Trading Standards Officers investigate a multi-million-pound driving school after hundreds of learner drivers complain that they haven’t got the lessons they paid for. Seventeen-year-old Harry Burton is among them. Harry booked an intensive course of lessons and paid a £400 deposit up front. But he got nothing in return. \n\nWhen the UK went into lockdown, many of us feared for our health and our livelihoods. But to the criminals, the spread of Covid-19 wasn’t so much a crisis as an opportunity. They started sending out bogus text messages claiming to be from the NHS, tricking people into handing over their bank details. Now, a specialist police unit is closing in on these fraudsters and bringing them to justice. Over a 12-month period, more than 30,000 Covid-related scams have been successfully stopped.
Source: BBC 1
Series 5: Episode 8
A secret surveillance operation uncovers a shocking case of human trafficking and modern slavery. Scores of young men and women are being kept as prisoners and forced into unpai ...
08-12-2023
BBC 1
Series 5: Episode 6
A seven-year-old boy suffers a fatal electric shock during a family visit to their local pub. Investigators discover a catalogue of electrical faults, including 12 defects that ...
07-12-2023
BBC 1
Series 5: Episode 5
Hundreds of pensioners are left stranded after booking a five-day holiday in Torquay. They only discover they’ve been conned when the coaches that are supposed to pick the ...
06-12-2023
BBC 1
Series 5: Episode 4
The Civil Aviation Authority catches a fraudster who lied to get a job as a captain with one of the UK’s largest airlines. After looking into his background, they discover ...
05-12-2023
BBC 1
Series 5: Episode 3
DVSA inspectors investigate the cause of a horrific crash in which an HGV careered out of control, smashing through a motorway central reservation and killing two people. The HG ...
04-12-2023
BBC 1
Series 6: 10. Holiday Hell
The holiday scam raking in millions of pounds. But the net is closing on the shameless travel agent who is leaving families out of pocket and stranded in the sun. Also, danger o ...
01-12-2023
BBC 1
Series 6: 9. River Of Sewage
Shocking river pollution – but is Britain’s biggest water company to blame? The Defenders investigate as thousands of dead fish are discovered in contaminated &lsquo ...
30-11-2023
BBC 1
Series 6: 8. Deadly Toy Stories
Buyers beware! The lethal danger of button batteries in toys. In one case, a baby almost dies after swallowing a battery from a dangerous toy. The Defenders raid suspect shops t ...
29-11-2023
BBC 1
Series 6: 7. Child Vaping Crisis
A teen schoolgirl goes undercover to expose shops selling illegal vapes to children, while a head teacher claims pupils can’t get through a lesson without vaping. In anoth ...
28-11-2023
BBC 1
Series 6: 6. Death On The Railway
A young boy is electrocuted on a train track. But who is to blame? The Defenders investigate and make a shocking discovery. In another case, they take on a driveway conman with ...
27-11-2023
BBC 1
Series 5: Episode 4
The Civil Aviation Authority catches a fraudster who lied to get a job as a captain with one of the UK’s largest airlines. After looking into his background, they discover ...
05-12-2023
BBC 1
Series 4 (shortened Versions): Episode 9
The Office of Rail and Road examines the causes behind a fatal road traffic collision in which two men died. Investigators discover that the man driving had been asked by his bo ...
07-04-2022
BBC 1
Series 5: Episode 8
A secret surveillance operation uncovers a shocking case of human trafficking and modern slavery. Scores of young men and women are being kept as prisoners and forced into unpai ...
08-12-2023
BBC 1
Series 4 (shortened Versions): Episode 8
The Environment Agency responds to a major incident after several canisters containing the deadly chemical weapon mustard gas are dumped in a lake. The race is on to find the ca ...
06-04-2022
BBC 1
Series 3 (shortened Versions): Episode 2
In Oldham, enforcement agents crack down on rogue landlords housing families in squalid conditions. Officers jail a con man posing as a collector for a children’s cancer c ...
09-03-2021
BBC 1
Series 3: Episode 8
At Felixstowe docks in Suffolk, enforcement agents are on the hunt for counterfeit and dangerous goods, stopping them entering the country. They also chase down a gang that has ...
29-10-2020
BBC 1
Series 1: Episode 14
The defenders take down a waste removal boss who illegally dumped 2,000 tons of rubbish in the Devon countryside - then set fire to it. They also crack down on an illegal puppy- ...
13-12-2018
BBC 1
Series 3: Episode 4
Enforcement agents shut down a filthy takeaway in Greater Manchester that is infested with mice. They also investigate a salmonella outbreak that struck down over 50 guests at a ...
14-10-2021
BBC 1
Series 4 (shortened Versions): Episode 2
Investigators crack down on a company fitting vehicles with special devices that are supposed to reduce toxic fumes and improve air quality. The devices cost thousands of pounds ...
29-03-2022
BBC 1
Series 1: Episode 9
The defenders crack down on landlords putting tenants' lives at risk. A shocking video, recorded by a tenant, shows the smoke and fire damage caused to his room when a block of ...
23-09-2019
BBC 1