Eggington man who featured in 24 Hours in Police Custody defends show as it's accused of 'Luton-bashing'

In a leaked letter, Luton Town Council and other organisations accused the TV show of being a "kick in the teeth" that fuelled "Luton-bashing".

But Adam White – whose own controversial case featured in the programme – told BBC Three Counties Radio that it "portrays the area in black and white, how it is", arguing that the show is "non biased".

He told the BBC: "It brings awareness to what normal crime happens in Bedfordshire and the whole of the UK. I think they do a good job."

Adam, who lived in Eggington at the time of the burglary, was featued in 24 Hours in Police Custody in November 2022 after unintentionally injuring two men who tried to break into his home.

When the episode aired, many viewers were left "outraged" by the "injustice", and a GoFundMe page raised £170,000 to support Adam and his family, who decided to leave the area.

The show revealed Adam was at home with his wife Lindsay and two children when he spotted two masked armed men attempting to break in on his home surveillance system.

While Lindsay dialled 999, Adam jumped into his car to pursue the would-be burglars as they made their getaway on a stolen motorcycle.

But after misjudging a corner, Adam's car hit the pair – who weren’t wearing helmets and were left needing emergency hospital treatment.

The CPS decided it was in the public interest to prosecute Adam, who was sentenced to 22 months in prison after being found guilty by a jury.

The judge told him he should not have taken the law into his own hands.

Meanwhile, Taylor Benford and Ryan Paul pled guilty to attempted burglary of Adam's house – but avoided time behind bars, receiving a two-year suspended sentence and 200 hours of community service.

Adam told the BBC that he shouldn't have "done what I did" and that he doesn't blame Bedfordshire Police, who do a "brilliant job".

And commenting on the show's portrayal of Luton, he said that he doesn’t believe it gives the town a bad reputation.

In August it was revealed that a draft letter urged Bedfordshire Police’s chief constable and the police and crime commissioner (PCC) to end the force’s participation in the Channel 4 programme “that does so much damage” to Luton.

Luton Borough Council confirmed the letter, seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), was “a proposed joint letter which would be sent to the police with the signatures of a number of local organisations that support its content”.

In response, a letter signed by PCC John Tizard and chief constable Trevor Rodenhurst said that the show has had an “overwhelmingly positive impact on the public’s perception of policing” and is regularly watched by over two million people.

According to research by Channel 4, 98 per cent of viewers said it had either improved or reinforced their positive opinion of the police – and more than 80 percent agreed the series sensitively brought important but different issues to a mainstream audience.

The men said they would “discuss with the producers to see what measures can be put in place to reduce any negative perceptions of the town”.