The dad’s story was featured in an episode of 24 Hours in Police Custody
A dad-of-two has said he is “blown away” by the public support after he was put behind bars for chasing two would-be burglars who managed to escape being jailed for their actions.
Adam White’s story was detailed in an episode of Channel 4’s 24 Hours in Police Custody aired on Monday (November 28), which explained how the 34-year-old ran two burglars off the road after they tried to break into his family home.
Taylor Benford and Ryan Paul, both 25, were armed with a crowbar and bolt cutters when they tried to break into the Whites’ family home in September 2019. His wife Lindsay, 34, and their two children, aged 8 and 10, were also in the house.
The pair made a getaway on a motorbike but were chased down by White in his Mercedes 4×4, and the dad eventually ran them off the road close to his home in Leighton Buzzard.
The two would-be burglars were left with serious injuries including a fractured skull, bleeding on the brain and broken bones.
Because of his actions, White was sentenced to 22 months in jail for causing serious injury by dangerous driving.
But Benford and Paul, walked free from court with a suspended sentence.
After the episode was aired on Channel 4, viewers were left furious at the dad’s sentence.
Watched C4 24 hours in Police Custody last night. A guy drove after burglars and knocked them off their motorbike. They were prosecuted, so was he. They were serial scrotes. He was a hard-working guy with a baby on the way. They got suspended sentences. He was jailed. Unjust IMO.
— Patrick O'Flynn (@oflynnsocial) November 29, 2022
24 hours in police custody, every man would do what that fella did chasing them burglars away, but he ends up with his and his wife’s life in tatters. So wrong. 😢
— Chris Fitzpatrick (@chrisfi27) November 28, 2022
One viewer set up a GoFundMe for White after he spent £50,000 of his family savings, credit cards and loans to pay for legal fees.
The fundraiser has now racked up more than £92,000 – including one donation from one anonymous person of £15,000.
https://twitter.com/TonyMaudsley1/status/1597619716440588288?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1597619716440588288%7Ctwgr%5E06d5b402412036c974171176a719c2bc3ccdee7d%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.lbc.co.uk%2Fnews%2Fdad-of-two-jailed-for-running-burglars-off-the-road-blown-away-after-strangers-r%2F
White and his wife have since responded to the outpouring of support for him.
In a video on social media, the couple said: “Thank you all for watching the show last night. We were a little bit worried about the backlash of that programme being aired but I think it’s gone absolutely crazy.
“I want to say thank you to everyone for the support it’s been absolutely overwhelming. We’re working through everyone’s messages. It’s been emotional so thank you so much.
“Massive thank you to Scott for setting up the GoFundMe page, I can’t thank you enough for the help and support. It will help pay off some of our debt, loans and credit cards and hopefully we can replace some of our savings as well.”
Lindsay added: “We are blown away that in a cost-of-living crisis people would want to help so much so thank you, we love you, we appreciate you all. It’s appreciated.”
We have decided to do a little video to give our appreciation and how humbled we are with the public support from everyone. Thank you all so much love for everyone. Thank you Adam & Lindsay#24hoursinpolicecustody #adamwhite @ninnins2022 @TattooedAndBald pic.twitter.com/NLNQRgwHeP
— Adam White (@WhitePropertyS1) November 29, 2022
Following the backlash, Bedfordshire Police released a statement addressing the controversy over the case.
The force said: “Our officers work incredibly hard to put criminals before the courts and disrupt their activities, but we know that the outcomes received do not always tell the full story. In this case, there were no winners.
“This episode is an important reminder that people must not take the law into their own hands. Such actions can have enormous consequences.
“The best thing you can do when a crime is happening is to call 999 so that we can dispatch officers to the scene to apprehend those involved and protect the public from further harm.
“Policing and the wider criminal justice system divides opinion and undoubtedly tonight’s episode of 24 hours in police custody will have done just that.”
They continued: “One of the roles the police fulfil is to investigate whether a criminal offence has been committed.
“Having determined this, the police are required to build an evidential case to submit to the CPS for consideration of whether there is sufficient evidence and where the public interest lies.
“Taylor Benford and Ryan Paul pleaded guilty to the attempted burglary, while Adam White was found guilty by a jury.”
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