Mum's lucky escape from bogus cops

A YOUNG woman driver was stopped by two bogus policemen who used a blue flashing light in their car to get her to pull over.

Mother-of-two Lyndsey Tanner felt she had no option but to stop when she saw the light in her rear-view mirror.

Two men got out of the car which had followed her. They were dressed in plain clothes but were wearing ear pieces and claimed to be undercover police officers.

They told her off for speeding and asked her questions about her vehicle, before letting her get back in and drive off.

It was only when Mrs Tanner got home to Alvaston that she became suspicious and contacted police, who said they had no record of any such patrol.

They have now alerted traffic officers to keep a look-out for the mystery vehicle.

Mrs Tanner, who was stopped on a slip road of the A50 at Burnaston, said: "I don't know what their motive was and, quite frankly, I don't want to know. I just want to warn other people to keep an eye out and know what to do in case something serious happens."

Mrs Tanner said that taking her keys out of the car ignition was the most sensible thing she did when the two men confronted her on the slip road in broad daylight.

The 30-year-old said: "The two men had really convinced me they were police officers and it was only when I got home I realised something wasn't right. If I had left my keys in the car, they could so easily have got into the car and driven off."

Mrs Tanner, a WeightWatchers leader, said she was driving home on the A38 from a class in Mickleover when the unmarked car, with a blue flashing light in the windscreen, started to drive behind her.

Mrs Tanner, who had just left the A38 at the Toyota Island, pulled off on to the slip road leading to the A50.

She said: "I looked out of my wing mirror and expected them to approach me but nothing happened, so I got out of the car and the man in the passenger seat got out at the same time.

"The man looked at the side of my car and then said to me that I had been going a bit fast. He asked me who the car belonged to and I explained it was my husband's, before he said to me: 'You didn't realise we were undercover police officers, did you?'."

Mrs Tanner said the second man got out of the car and the pair started quizzing her about the car's MoT, saying their system reported her car had no MoT.

She said: "I had been convinced up to this point but this confused me because the car is fairly new and I didn't think it needed one yet but all I could do was apologise and say I'd get it sorted.

"Amazingly, they seemed to say they wouldn't do anything this time, so I took the opportunity to get in my car, lock the door and drive away."

Back home following the incident, which happened at 12.45pm on Thursday, November 12, Mrs Tanner said she and her husband, David, 37, confirmed with the DVLA that their two-year-old car did not need an MoT and called the police.

Mrs Tanner said officers told her no unmarked police cars were in the area and the behaviour of the "undercover officers" was out of character.

She said: "My husband is convinced that, had I not taken the keys out of the car, they would have pushed me to the floor and taken the car."

The car that stopped her was a dark silver Astra. The driver was in his 50s and about 5ft 6in, while the passenger was in his 40s and of similar height.

A spokeswoman for Derbyshire police said: "We have alerted the traffic units and other officers in that area.

"All officers in this area carry picture identification and a Derbyshire Constabulary warrant card.

"They may ask to see your documents and they can give you documents regarding further action. If there is any doubt, you can stay in the car and call police on 0345 123 3333."