Woman's Nissan Micra helps police catch dangerous driver
A woman gave a pursuing police officer a lift in her Nissan Micra, helping him catch a dangerous driver who was later jailed.
How it was covered
- ITV was the only channel found covering it.
- Channel 5, BBC News, BBC One, Channel 4, GB News and Sky News: not found in tracked broadcasts.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story. Facts only one channel reported are attributed to it.
It was a chase with all the ingredients of a Hollywood film, but with a Welsh twist. A woman in Aberaman, South Wales, helped a police officer catch a dangerous driver by giving him a lift in her Nissan Micra. PC Peter Kurzweil had been chasing Jacob Roberts on foot after Roberts rammed a police car twice and fled through a park and back alleys. The officer was exhausted and could go no further, when Mel Spiller stopped and offered him a lift.
With the aid of her car, the officer caught up with Roberts, who was found with two cannabis cigarettes and was already disqualified from driving. Roberts was later jailed for 14 months. Mel said she would never say no to helping the emergency services. She was proud of her car, which was scrapped weeks later, but she believed it had one last big chase in it.
The incident was described as having all the ingredients of a Hollywood car chase, but with a distinctive valleys twist. Mel's role was modest, yet her actions were crucial in bringing the driver to justice.
Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, grouped by how many channels reported each one. Select a dot to see the source excerpt.
| Claim |  |
|---|---|
| Only on one channel | |
| Jacob Roberts was jailed for 14 months for dangerous driving and drug charges. | |
| Roberts reversed into a police car and sped away. | Reported by ITV |
| Roberts was found with two cannabis cigarettes and was disqualified from driving. | |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
This report focused on the unlikely, almost comic nature of the rescue, framing it as a Hollywood-style chase with a 'distinctive valleys twist'. It placed particular emphasis on the car's final journey to the scrapyard, giving the story a nostalgic and warm-hearted tone.
- “It had all the ingredients of a Hollywood car chase, but with a distinctive valleys twist.”
- “I just thought, my gosh, this peace officer is completely out of breath. He needs a lift.”
- “Off to the garage in the sky.”
The News at Ten reported the same story with a slightly more heroic framing, explicitly praising Mel as a hero at the end. It also included a small extra detail about the culprit reversing into a police car, and added a light-hearted mention of the officer using a taser, though this was cut off. The tone was similar to the Evening News, but the 'hero' label was more prominent.
- “And finally, if there was one thing a disqualified driver on the run from the police wasn't counting on, it was Mel Spiller and her Nissan Micra.”
- “Mel, you are a hero.”
- “This really was a chase, but had a bit of everything.”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.