DETAINING drink drivers, tackling violent criminals and tracking down wanted offenders is all in a day's work for officers in the roads policing unit at Cheshire Constabulary.

Now as part of Channel 5's Police Interceptors the public will be able to go behind the scenes of life on the frontline.

PC Ian Blanchard is just one of the officers who will feature on the TV series as the force tackles those breaking the law on the roads.

"It was a difficult decision to do it," said the 43-year-old who is stationed at Penketh Police Station.

"We are not actors – this is our life.

"But a few of us jumped at the chance because it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

"It's something to show my family and my little boy when he's older."

The dad-of-one, who was presented with a bravery award after he risked his life to save a woman from the path of a lorry on the M62 in 2015, described his first experience in front of the camera as 'unnerving'.

But with officers constantly busy and on the move, it was easy to forget about the cameras.

"There is always a lot going on," said PC Blanchard, who has worked in the force for more than 11 years.

"We deal with drink drivers, violence, people who are wanted and drive through the ANPR cameras.

"There is one particular incident where a man committed some serious sexual assault and we ended up using TPAC (tactical pursuit and containment) which is a tactic we use to stop cars to prevent a pursuit.

"A lot of people think we do not do our jobs properly and this highlights the range and the variety of the things we have to deal with on a daily basis."

Camera crews documented the efforts made by the force to tackle drug crime across the county over several weeks.

Steve Griffiths, from Cheshire Constabulary’s Roads Policing Operations Team, said: “Our Interceptor team have been operating professionally with a high level of skill for a number of years and this work will now be highlighted in the Channel 5 show.

“We work every day to target criminals and bring them to justice and now the public will be able to see how we go about this work and what is involved in the job.”

Tune into Channel 5 on Monday at 8pm.