Essex Police officer features on Crimewatch

The programme, which aired on BBC1 at 10am today, documents an incident which saw a stolen vehicle being driven along railway tracks in Cheshunt as the driver attempted to evade police.

At around 9.30am on Thursday, July 15, 2021, two of Essex Police’s roads policing units received information that a stolen Range Rover had travelled from Essex into neighbouring Hertfordshire.

Crimewatch follows the story of what happened when Essex officers attempted to speak to the driver of the car, who reversed his car at speed with an officer trapped between the car and the open door, hitting several parked cars before crashing through a closed train crossing barrier.

Officers from Hertfordshire attended to assist with the search and the vehicle was found abandoned on nearby train tracks, in Windmill Lane.

The entire incident was caught on camera by the public.

Thankfully, the Essex Police officer wasn’t seriously injured.  

Kieron Pepper (also known as Kieron Francis), of Fossway in Dagenham, was subsequently found guilty by a jury at St Albans Crown Court in August 2022, of two charges of endangering life by driving the car onto the rail tracks and by abandoning it there.

He had already pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, driving while disqualified, two offences of criminal damage, unlawfully driving on the railway tracks and abandoning the vehicle.

He was cleared of stealing the vehicle and is currently awaiting sentencing.

Detective constable Jim Simpson, from Hertfordshire constabulary’s specialist investigation team, led the case and will feature on the programme.

He said: “I am very pleased that the efforts of all the officers involved have led to convictions for such rarely used legislation, that encompassed the full intent of Mr Francis’ actions.”

The piece leads with an account from Essex officer PC Gill Brettell who attempted to stop the driver.

Both her and her colleague received Chief Constable bravery awards for their actions.