We got the green light for this project the day before the trial was due to start. Unable to book a local crew in time, I hired a camera I'd never used before, took a train from London to Bolton, and read the manual on the way. 

I met all the defendants outside the court and in the evening, I filmed them reacting to the case in the local pub. That became the pattern for the whole trial. During the day, I sat in the reporter's gallery and took extensive notes and in the evenings I filmed with the defendants.

After a couple of days, I had a crew and in the public gallery of the court I recognised Ray Gosling, a remarkable man and an extraordinary reporter, who was there to support the defendants. 

With my notes, court reports, and Ray's iconic style, we had the makings of a drama-doc that could highlight what appeared to be little more than the expensive pursuit of an outdated and pointless law.

​

Although all the defendants were found guilty, their convictions were appealed and over-turned at the European Count of Human Rights.