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Special ceremony for team who brought Britain's most wanted man to justice
Mark Branagan (Yorkshire Post)
The elderly garage owner who led police to Mark Hobson yesterday joined the team who brought the serial killer to justice at a special awards ceremony.
Derek North, 81, did not at first pay much attention to Hobson – unkempt, unshaved, dressed in a lumberjack shirt and dirty jeans – when he came in to buy cigarette papers, matches, and a bottle of water.
But then Mr North looked the man in the eye and realised who he was. When Hobson limped out the shop, Mr North grabbed the telephone and dialled 999.
Within minutes, armed police and dog handlers were on the scene, and at 3.43pm, with high-powered rifles trained on Hobson, Britain's most wanted man was finally in custody after a week on the run.
Yesterday Mr North, owner of JD North garage on the A19 at Shipton-by-Beningbrough, was presented with a certificate by North Yorkshire Chief Constable Della Cannings in praise of his "vigilance, calm actions, and quick thinking in alerting police".
Hobson, 35, from Selby, was jailed for life in May for the murders of sisters Claire and Diane Sanderson and elderly couple James and Joan Britton in 2004.
Yesterday Det Supt Javad Ali, who led the hunt, and his deputy, Det Insp Dai Malyn, were among those honoured at the awards ceremony at Thirsk Racecourse.
Other certificates of merit were presented to 43 other detectives, crime scene investigators, forensics experts and family liaison officers involved in the operation.
The bodies of twins Claire and Diane Sanderson were found in a flat in Camblesforth, near Selby, on July 18, 2004. Hours later pensioners James and Joan Britton were found at their home in Strensall, York.
One of North Yorkshire's largest ever manhunts – Operation Chive – was now under way, culminating in the arrest of Hobson, who was convicted of all four murders at Leeds Crown Court.
Commended for their leadership of the inquiry yesterday were: then-Deputy Chief Constable of North Yorkshire Roger Baker; Det Chief Supt Dick Mann; Det Chief Supt Steve Read; Det Supt Javad Ali; Det Supt Barry Honeysett; Det Insp Dai Malyn; and Det Insp Steve Maud.
A second group of officers also received certificates of merit for professionalism, dedication and commitment shown, including building up the prosecution case.
They were Det Sgts Steve Smith and Dave Pegg, and Det Cons Trevor Dove, Glenn Goodwill, Dave Cockerill, Paul Radford, Andrew Abell, and Andrew Wilman
Also honoured were the Scenes of Crime team John Titley; Tony Jefferson; Nick Mitchell; Ian Greaves; Paul McAulliffe; Dick Gray; Andy Addison; and Diane Shears
Those who attended the incidents as they unfolded, those who dealt with Hobson after arrest and pieced together his conflicting accounts, and local and national experts involved were also given official recognition.
As well as the police constables who had to deal with the tragedies of discovering the bodies and dealing with bereaved relatives, there were also a large number of officers of all ranks working behind the scenes of the investigation whose roles
are now publicly acknowledged.
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