Robber 'tortured into confession'

A CONVICTED robber was tortured by police into signing a confession, the High Court in Birmingham was told yesterday.

Derek Treadaway, 49, alleges that officers from West Midlands Police's disbanded Serious Crime Squad forced a confession from him by covering his head with plastic bags until he lost consciousness.

Treadaway, who served a 12-year jail sentence for post office robberies, is suing the Chief Constable of West Midlands and the officers who interviewed him in 1982.

Treadaway, formerly of Hodge Hill, Birmingham, claims he was assaulted by Detective Inspector John Brown, Detective Sergeant Timothy Russell, Detective Constable Alan Pickering and two others.

The case continues today.