TV's first traffic cop retires after nearly 30 years of chasing car criminals with South Yorkshire Police

PC Tim Scothern joined the force in 1992 as a probationary officer and joined the response team at Dinnington Station, Rotherham once he had completed his training.

A few years later he joined the Operational Support Unit (OSU) as a traffic officer, where he would spend the majority of his policing career creating safer roads and intercepting those who use the road network to commit crime.

It was also here that PC Scothern became a familiar face to many thousands of people more than local criminals when he starred in Traffic Cops on BBC1 and interceptors on Channel 5. The series followed the work of the force's traffic cops between 2002 and 2012 and PC Scothern was well-known across the force for ‘having the knack’ to catch some of South Yorkshire’s most wanted criminals.

OSU’s Roads Policing Inspector Craig Clifton said: “Tim has been an icon to roads policing for decades and will be a sad loss to the team. Even in his last days with the force, he has fought to stay on the streets, getting directly involved with pursuit management and supporting the roads policing function with fantastic intelligence products.

“Only a couple of weeks ago Tim and I were sat with a stolen car when some of his fans came out for his autograph! Congratulations on your retirement Tim, keep the enthusiasm no matter what you do and good luck for the future.”

“He has always been someone that I can be totally honest with about everything, even when we have had our arguments, he quite likes listening to girly chat, so he used to cop for the lot from me.

“I never really knew who this ‘Tim Scothern’ when I joined OSU, so to be honest I was a little dubious of this rather large character, so when I changed teams and worked with Tim the first thing he did was take me to Ecclesfield Police Station for a brew and we have been friends ever since.

“One thing I can say about Tim is that he has always had a knack for catching the bad guys but SYP will not for a minute be saving any money on the ink stocks as he could never find a pen when it mattered."

PC Scothern's current supervisor grew up watching Traffic Cops on television and it was that and PC Scothern that inspired him to join up himself.

DS Gareth Bryant said: “It was quite surreal for me when I become Tim’s supervisor 18-months-ago, as I, like many others, grew up watching him on Traffic Cops in the noughties.

“It is without a doubt watching police officers like Tim that inspired me to become one myself. Supervising Tim has been an absolute pleasure. Even with the countdown to his retirement fast approaching he has not taken his foot off the gas and continued to show genuine dedication, enthusiasm and commitment to apprehending criminals and making South Yorkshire and its roads a safer place for everyone.

“His retirement is well deserved and I wish him all the best with his future plans.”

PC Scothern's last day is May 5 and his plans for retirement include working within the motor sport industry.