FOOTBALLER turned Hollywood hardman Vinnie Jones joined forces with North-East police officers recently.
The former Wimbledon defender, who has appeared in the likes of 'Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels', 'Gone in 60 Seconds' and 'X Men', joined Northumbria Police's Operation Dragoon roads policing team for seven days of filming across the force area.
Vinnie and his film crew followed the road safety initiative's enforcement officers out on the roads while they responded to incidents and carried out their duties. The footage will make up a ten-week series focusing on the operation, which has been running across Northumbria since the beginning of 2014, and is due to be aired later this year on Spike.
Chief Inspector John Heckels, who heads Operation Dragoon, said: "It's been great having Vinnie and the cameras with the Operation Dragoon team over the last week.
"The crew were embedded within the Op Dragoon team allowing them to see what officers have to deal with and respond to out on the front line.
"I think he found it really interesting and enjoyed it and we certainly got some second glances when officers turned up to incidents with Vinnie Jones alongside them. "The Dragoon team is doing some great work out on the roads and it's been a really positive project. I can't wait to see the outcome when it goes out later this year.
"As a force we are really keen to show local people the work that goes on behind the scenes and promote the excellent work that our officers are doing - hopefully the show will reflect this and show our communities a different side to policing."
Speaking afterwards Vinnie said: "I've really enjoyed working with such an impressive unit. It’s been a privilege to be allowed to see how Operation Dragoon works and I'm looking forward for the public to be able to see how this unique team deal with the situations they encounter on the job."
Operation Dragoon is made up of a number of different strands and sees officers out on the roads targeting dangerous drivers, going into local schools and raising awareness in the importance of road safety and working closely with all road users to improve safety on the roads.
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