S4C series following North Wales Roads Policing Team returns to screens

A popular series following the day-to-day work of the North Wales Police Roads Policing Unit will return to screens this week.

Y Llinell Las, on S4C, tonight (Wednesday 13 April), follows the team during one of their busiest summers ever.

Between June and September 2021 North Wales Police received 35,279 999 calls – 5,612 more than the same period in the previous year.

The North Wales Police region covers a vast area – nearly a third of Wales’s land, and the problems that arise vary widely from area to area – from the cities of the east to the countryside in the west.

During the summer months, the population of North Wales increases by up to 30 per cent, but due to Covid’s rules and restrictions on foreign travel, the area was busier than ever, with additional pressure on the authorities:

With in-car, custody and body cameras, the series gives an honest portrayal of the work of the Unit as they keep us and our communities safe. The series also gives viewers the chance get to know the ‘real’ men and women behind the jobs.

“We had a busy summer as a result of Covid; the authorities were telling people to stay home so North Wales was gridlocked,” said PC Rich Priamo, who has worked at the Roads Policing Unit for four years.

“The A55 was like the M25 – nobody could move; when we travel to get to urgent calls, we usually drive 120 to 140 miles an hour on the A55, but we were having to drive 12 to 14 miles an hour,” he adds.

“Time is of the essence for us to reach scenes – and not just for us, but the ambulance and fire service as well. Arriving at a scene that would normally take 10 minutes would take half an hour. It was mayhem for us.”

In the first episode, we hear more about the pressure placed on the team as swarms of holidaymakers head to North Wales in the summer; the team arrive at the scene of a motorbike accident, we see inside the control office, and we get an insight to how they work with the Drone Unit to track down the thief of a stolen car.

One of the other police officers we follow in the series is PC Dan Edwards, who has been part of the Roads Policing Unit for six years:

“I joined North Wales Police in 2006 as a PCSO, then the plan from day one was to come onto the Traffic Department. I’ve always been a petrol head. A pursuit is not really what you want – it’s just too dangerous. You have to decide what’s dangerous and what’s not.

“As far back as I can remember – when I was six or seven years old, I always wanted to be a policeman. I’m not one who likes sitting in the office, I like being out there – that’s what keeps me going.”

Y Llinell Las will air on S4C on Wednesday 13 April at 9.00pm. English and Welsh subtitles available on demand: S4C Clic, iPlayer and other platforms