EPISODE Six of the Channel 4 documentary “999 What’s Your Emergency” explores the lives of legal and illegal immigrants living in the UK – and Warrington again figures prominently in the programme.
It comes at a time when immigration is at an all-time high and the issue at the centre of political debate.
With growing numbers of nationalities now living side-by-side it increasingly falls to the emergency services to bridge cultural divides.
In Warrington, PC Niaz Waddington and colleagues are keeping a close eye on Saturday night revellers.
Incidents range from shouts of “ISIS” and “terrorist” to a man arrested for verbally abusing Muslim taxi drivers.
PC Waddington says: “You do need to send a clear message out to people who think it is fun to call people names. Those are the people I’ve got no time of day for and hopefully the law throws the book at them,”
PC Racheal Parr is sent to a petrol station to meet Warrington’s latest would-be resident. He asked for the police to be called so he can hand himself over to the authorities.
“They’re hiding in trucks. They’re literally in there for days on end,” says PC Parr. “They’re in a foreign country, they don’t know where to go, what to do. They want to be arrested, they want to be taken to a place of safety – it’s sheer desperation.”
The number of racially-aggravated incidents dealt with by Cheshire Police on a typical weekend has doubled in the last years.
Every month, almost 400 legal, and a growing number of illegal immigrants, arrive in the county. Cheshire has become a
popular drop off point for new arrivals.
PC Racheal Parr..sent to meet Warrington’s newest would-be resident
