A series of burglaries puzzles the police. Apart from stealing the silverware of the houses he breaks into the thief also tidies up the place. Furthermore PC Rowan suspects that the local saint miss Stirling is up to something. His suspicion seems to be confirmed when an incomplete set of figures she bought at an auction turns up complete at Ashfordly Hall. Kate Rowan has been filling in for Dr. Ferrenby while he has been injured, and now he offers her a job at his practice. But she has doubts although she has wanted that position since they arrived. Alan Maskell, a young man Rowans has helped setting up a motorcycle repair shop, is getting married to his fiancée Sandra and his father asks Greengrass to be in charge of transportation. But his lorry is not quite suitable so he "borrows" another one.

A flasher is spotted on Elsinby Moor and when Nick Rowan goes to investigate he is stopped by the flasher himself, Joe Duffy, a shoes salesman who has been held up at gun point and robbed of his van and clothes. Lord Ashfordly's arrogant son Rupert is home for a visit and Rowan thinks he may be the perpetrator. Anyway Master Rupert is using his position to make everybody else's life miserable. Especially Nick Rowan's when Rowan arrests him for drunk driving. But they have to drop the charges when Rowan fails to contact his wife in time. She is the only doctor in Aidensfield who can perform the required medical test now that Alex Ferrenby has retired. Young Ashfordly may also be the father of the child Julie Neagle is expecting. At least her father thinks so and confronts him.

Army sergeant Nichols is a real bastard. Especially towards the black private Ken Marston. During a survival exercise on the moors Nichols starts shooting at Marston who jumps him in self-defense. The fight ends with Nichols falling off a rock and Marston makes a run for it believing he has killed his superior. He goes to Aidensfield to see an old friend Tom Sandford and befriends Tom's son Daniel. PC Rowan gets on his case when he breaks into a farm. Meanwhile the Sandfords are in trouble because Tom has died and the social services think his widow Helen is unstable and unable to take care of Daniel.

The assistant chief constable of North Riding is visiting Ashfordly Hall to hunt and sergeant Blaketon wants the police station to be in tiptop order for the event. A series of small break-ins in Aidensfield is therefore the last thing he wants. And when all the 350 birds shot during hunt is stolen he wants that even less. But the usual suspect Greengrass claims his innocence and Lord Ashfordly wants Blaketon to scale down the inquiry not to embarrass any of his guests. Young Susan Rawlings is rushed to the hospital and it turns out she has had an illegal abortion.

PC Rowan responses to an anonymous emergency call and find archaeologist Professor Brigstocke dead in his library and the house broken into. The professor was said to hide a treasure and Greengrass decides to find it. Clues lead to the ruins of Saint Columba's Abbey on the Ashfordly estate. But also Mary Secker, who is writing a book on 12th century monasteries, is interested in the ruins. Lord Ashfordly is hosting a fishing party and is not pleased to find fishing net and no fish in his river. Blaketon suspects Greengrass is behind it and when the old scoundrel enters the abbey to look for the treasure, Blaketon is close behind him. They both get trapped and Blaketon breaks a leg when part of the ruins cave in, and Greengrass lights a fire to keep him warm.

Harry Schofield's great ambition is that his son Len becomes a professional cricket player, but when Len is not accepted at cricket training, he runs away from home. Joss Harrop has a couple of mares he wants covered, but stud fees have risen and he cannot afford it. Greengrass has a perfect solution to that. They "borrow" lord Ashfordly's race horse Ashfordly Lad for a couple of hours and return the stud before anybody notices it is missing. That is a lot easier said than done. Not getting hold of the horse that is, but returning it!

A large quantity of fine wine has been stolen from a wholesaler's warehouse and the police think it is an inside job, because the burglar alarm was switched off. The prime suspect is the haulier Charlie Wallace. PC Rowan finds out that Alf Ventress has lost a lot of money at cards to Wallace and cannot settle his debts. Rowan decides to help his friend and colleague and trap Wallace at the same time. Lord Ashfordly has had intruders on his estate and when he catches Greengrass red-handed at poaching he hires the old scoundrel as a guard to keep off the intruders - unpaid of course.

Greengrass has a soft job cleaning Lord Ashfordly's lawns for moles. To ensure a lasting employment him and David puts the moles back again at night. One night they are surprised by his lordship's sister Patricia, who is drunk as a skunk. It soon becomes clear that she has a drinking problem, and she is convinced that the law against drunk driving does not apply to nobilities like herself. She also has a soft spot for Steve's father Harry, whom she had a crush on when they were young. When Lord Ashfordly is away hunting for a couple of days Greengrass decides "to put Ashfordly Hall on the map" as he calls it and he organizes a poaching party in his lordship's absence.

Josh Roberts is a first class vet, but he also has developed a drinking problem after his wife's death and is almost always drunk. He forces sergeant Craddock off the road one night and Craddock orders his constables to be on a special lookout for drunken drivers in general and Roberts in particular. That does not scare off Roberts, who considers himself safe because he is the only vet in the area and he stages his own little, private war against the sergeant. There is a country fair in Aidensfield and Greengrass sees yet another opportunity to earn a quit or two and opens a stall just outside the fair and leaves David in charge. And he has some real bargains. Especially the sheep skin rugs! Phil tries to make a good impression on Sue Driscoll, the new secretary at the Ashfordly police station.

Lord Ashfordly's sister Patricia Brewster is visiting her brother to present her new fiancée Ronnie Harper. Sober. While his lordship is giving an engagement party in their honour one of his guests is burgled and another one was the previous night. Lady Patricia asks her fiancée, who has a criminal record, if he knows something about it, and the police have an eye on Harper too. Harper on the other hand has both his eyes set on Gina who is not insusceptible to his charm. Greengrass is harbouring two workmen, Keith and Chas, who do some renovations around the village. Among other things they are refitting Oscar Blaketon's bathroom, and he smells a rat.

Barry Dixon returns to Aidensfield to start a new life when he is released from prison. But he has company. By detective Ed Baxter employed by the insurance company who had to pay up for the bank robbery that Dixon committed. Baxter starts to follow Dixon everywhere he goes hoping he will lead him to money. Ron and Doreen Tidy are on a hiking trip when they are stopped by Lord Ashfordly's keepers, who say that they are trespassing although the path is marked as public right of way on all maps. Together with the Boltons they stage a public demonstration to get Lord Ashfordly to open the path again. When the old chimney sweep Jim Fiedler dies Greengrass decides to take over his business. Especially the lucrative part of blessing newlyweds. Speaking of newlyweds things are heating up romantically between Mike Bradley and Jackie Lambert.

On his way home from the Aidensfield Arms one night Col. Clifford hits a boy on a bicycle. At his trial he gets a fine and is required to take a driving test. During the test it is discovered that he is night blind and he is only allowed to drive at daytime. Gina's old friend Terry Noble has gone AWOL after a fight with another soldier. She hides him although sergeant Craddock has asked his constables to be on the lookout for him. It turns into a murder hunt when the soldier he attacked dies, and Noble takes Col. Clifford hostage until he can get away during the night. Oscar Blaketon inherits a lot of money and has a business proposition for Lord Ashfordly, which Greengrass probably will not be too happy about. And speaking of Greengrass he is planning a French gourmet evening at the Aidensfield Arms.

Film producer Denzil Arcourt and his team take over Ashfordly Hall for a couple of days to shoot scenes for a new movie. The whole village is impressed by the movie people, who stay at the Aidensfield Arms. But unlike most movie people Arcourt does not like it and get very enraged, when Gina takes a picture of him with the new camera she has just been given by Andy. David has bought a couple of hens from Nathaniel Clegghorn so that he can sell the eggs, but he wants his money back, when Greengrass discover both the hens are cocks. That is easier said than done when Clegghorn threatens them with his shot gun. Greengrass and David are not the only ones who find themselves at the wrong end of Clegghorn's shot gun. Lord Ashfordly gets in the same position when Clegghorn accuses his dog of disturbing Clegghorn's sheep.

Christmas time is near. Somebody has been decimating Lord Ashfordly's population of deer, and for once Greengrass is not a suspect. As a matter of fact he agrees to help the police by posing as a potential buyer to smoke the poachers out. He is also occupied by his latest idea, a driving school - using Bernie Scripps's hearse. Jackie is handling a divorce case for Julia Kendall and she wants the police to enforce a restraining order against her husband Frank. Her daughter Katie misses her father and still visits him almost every day hoping her parents will get back together again. Maggie is in charge of the annual Christmas concert and she wants Katie Kendall to sing at the concert. A good idea because the young girl has the voice of an angel.

Gary Tyler visits his girlfriend Lyn, who works as a maid at Ashfordly Hall. When he sneaks out under the cover of darkness he is shot at and wounded by Lord Ashfordly's state manager Reed. Or so they say, but PC Bradley is not quite sure. Things do not look good for Tyler, because he has a suspended sentence, but he does not want to involve Lyn although she can clear his name. Greengrass helps a stranger, who has run out of petrol. The stranger, Bill Austin, works at a local newspaper and to show his gratitude he offers Greengrass a weekly column in the paper. The old scoundrel does not hesitate to make the best of it for himself and make full use of the situation.

Dr. Ian Peters is the new doctor in Aidensfield. His presence will soon be needed when a hit-and-run driver crashes into the car of Jackie's friend Sue. Both she and Jackie get only minor injuries. Or so it seems because it turns out that Sue has a severe, internal head injury when she collapses into a coma. David is a witness to the accident, and when he and Greengrass are picking up some old bicycles, which the old scoundrel has "borrowed" from Lord Ashfordly to hire out to the participants of a fun bike race, they find the hit-and-run car burning. Lord Ashfordly identifies the car as his old Bentley, and his nephew Charles testifies that he saw the chauffeur's son Eric sitting in the car shortly before the accident. Andy is trying to get back into Gina's good books, and he has some serious doubts about the new doctor's qualifications. But he might just be jealous because Gina likes Dr. Peters.

Roy Brooks receive a 6-month sentence for horse theft, but the sentence is suspended because he has to keep his family together after his wife's recent death. But it is an uphill struggle because he has a serious drinking problem. The following night the race horse Rio Boy is stolen from Lord Ashfordly's stables and Brooks gets under suspicion because his lorry matches the description of the one used by the thieves. Bernie Scripps accidentally tells Greengrass that he has psychic powers. When the old scoundrel has stopped laughing he gets the idea that they might as well cash in on it. Understandably Scripps does not agree. Phil Bellamy is babysitting Maggie Bolton's son Sam, but when he wakes up from a little nap to feed the baby Sam has gone missing.

Lord Ashfordly's game keeper Frank McCready is deep in debt with bookmakers and loan sharks breaks into Ashfordly Hall and steals the money for the staff wages. When his wife Mary finds out he promises her to pay every penny back, but she is afraid she will be regarded as an accomplice if she does not tell the police, what she knows. She sees only one solution to her problems with PC Bradley as an unlucky witness. Greengrass and David come across a stranded lorry loaded with bags of coal and the old scoundrel consider it their duty to salvage the coal according to maritime law - a very free interpretation on his part based on the fact that one of the wheels of the lorry is standing in small puddle of water. Not surprisingly nobody else sees it that way.

Sylvia Smith takes care of her ill mother Freda, and too much so if you ask her fiancée Jack Hall. Every time he wants to take her out she declines because of her mother's illness. One night on of Sylvia's brother Tony's fish-and-chips shops is burned down and his wife Gladys is not surprised to learn that it was arson. She is convinced that Jack is the arsonist and the relationship between them does not improve when old Freda Smith dies and leaves everything to Sylvia. Oscar Blaketon gets a visit from his old friend Ursula Donne. She is also an old friend of Lord Ashfordly's and she sticks to him like glue when she meets him again joining him for dinners and to the horse races. She even invites him to join her consortium, which owns hotels all over England. Nurse Bolton gets a job at a hospital and leaves Aidensfield.

Sergeant Craddock attends dancing classes to keep up his dancing skills. He also has something of a soft spot for the dancing teacher Susan Finlay. That friendship is put to the test when her son Richard drives through Aidensfield like a regular Jackie Stewart and refuses to stop when the police want to give him a speeding ticket. Craddock lets him off with a warning, but the following night a little boy is run down by a hit-and-run driver, who may very well be Richard driving in her car. Lord Ashfordly is forced off the road by Richard's reckless driving. The petrol tank of his Bentley gets punctured in the incident and he takes it to Bernie's garage. But Bernie is out of town for a few days and Vernon becomes an instant expert on Bentleys when his lordship needs his car back badly.

Lord Ashfordly plays host to the Livonian Prince Nikolas and hires Vernon Scripps to bodyguard his distinguished guest. Not an easy task as it turns out because the prince is a great lover of liquor and will rather pay a visit to the Aidensfield Arms than to his lordship's wine cellar. Lord Ashfordly is not the only one awaiting guests. Mike Bradley is expecting his niece Anne and her friend Louise, but the two girls turn out to be very modern teenagers and not the cute little kids he imagined. They are more into parties than trips around the countryside. Dr. Summerbee has given up her job at the hospital in favour of Dr. Bolton's old practice in Aidensfield. Phil has a very special assignment for Bernie Scripps. He intends to propose to Gina and wants Bernie to drive her to a very romantic place. But Bernie has to help his brother and sends David instead. Only when you give directions to David you have to be _very_ specific!

During a dinner at Ashfordly Hall the county High Sheriff Andrew Parkin makes a pass at Susie Cope, who is serving at the dinner. On their way home from the dinner Parkin and his wife Sonia run down the farmer Colin Taylor. The Parkins claim that Mrs. Parkin was driving the car due to him having too much to drink, but PC Bradley is not sure because the driver's seat was too far back for her. Either way the accident may turn out to be a costly affair for the Parkins, because their insurance does not cover her driving the car. Furthermore Susie Cope tells Oscar Blaketon, who is acting as a private investigator on Taylor's behalf, that she is certain that it was the High Sheriff himself who was behind the wheel. Vernon Scripps revives an old idea of his, a marriage bureau.

Jackie gets a visit from her old friend Caroline. She is surprised to learn that Caroline has a baby. Caroline needs a day off from motherhood and leaves the baby with Jackie and Mike while she goes to York to see some friends. Mike leaves the baby in a pram outside the police house, but when Jackie comes home from an errand the baby is gone. Jackie is not the only one who has a visitor. Lady Patricia visits her brother at Ashfordly Hall together with an old family friend Lord Hal Tadcaster. Well "together" may not be the proper word, because she would rather see him leave than stay. And with good reason since the CID suspects Tadcaster of being a drug dealer and asks the police in Ashfordly to keep an eye on him. The post office in Whitby goes on strike. Vernon Scripps gets the idea to start a courier service. And for once he does the dirty work himself.

PC Bradley has been sent to investigate a break-in when he witnesses an explosion. It is the car of ambulance driver Frank Metcalfe which exploded when he turned on the ignition, and it looks like attempted murder because he has received anonymous phone calls and a threatening letter a couple of days earlier. The grocer Mr. Dale is attacked under similar circumstances. But they have nothing in common. The only lead is a blue Ford Transit van seen on both occasions and that the attacker has military training and access to the local arsenal. Pete Atkins fits these requirements, but he claims his innocence. Oscar Blaketon also receives anonymous phone calls. Is he the next victim? Rev. Meeks represents a foundation which offers Lord Ashfordly to finance the renovation St. Judes Church on his lands, and his lordship hires Vernon Scripps and David to do work for him. Meeks especially asks them to be on the lookout for a particular baptismal font from the church.

Russian chess champion Leonid Vorodin passes through Ashfordly Hall on his way around Britain and his lordship asks sergeant Craddock for a permanent police presence during his stay. This does not prevent a burglar to break into the manor during the night and steal some of Lord Ashfordly's precious chess sets. Vorodin plans to defect with the aid of his British press secretary Anna Young. But Sychen and Zaikov from the Russian embassy are on to their plans. Greengrass has decided to sell his cottage in Aidensfield in order to buy a house in the Caribbean. While David can move back to his mother Vernon has no place to go and does his best to discourage potential buyers.

Bill Dyer asks PC Bradley to take a closer look at Giles Sutton whom he suspects of rigging the sheep market. Sutton senses what is going to happen and offers Jackie his legal account. He even pays for their meal one night he "spots" Mike and Jackie having dinner at a restaurant. Mike gets angry when he finds out, but Jackie insists Sutton only did it as a gesture to her totally failing to recognize the consequences it may have on her husband. Sutton even leaves a large amount of money in Mike's jacket, and although Mike returns the money he is suspended for taking bribes. But even worse is to come in Mike's and Jackie's private life. Dilys Powell persuades Vernon to go into business with her marketing the spring water from her farm on bottles. Vernon thinks it is an excellent idea and invites Lord Ashfordly as a prospective investor.

There is a new face at the police station in Ashfordly. Probationary PC Tom Nicholson. He is a transfer from Scarborough, where he made quite a splash of himself and even hit the front page of the local newspaper. So PC Bellamy and PC Ventress decide to have a little fun at his expense. A number of items have gone missing from Lord Ashfordly's African collection. Lord Ashfordly is contacted by Chief Daniel Moketso, who asks his lordship to return some items which belong to his tribe's legacy, and the missing items are part of that legacy. Vernon Scripps tries his luck running a taxi service. If only it was not for the customers.

Ashfordly Hall opens its doors to the public with guided tours by Vernon Scripps. During one of the tours master art thief George Woodford sneaks away and hides in his lordship's wine cellar, where he makes himself comfortable until nightfall. Under the cover of darkness he then removes four valuable sketches by the famous English painter John Constable. Woodford is recognized on some press photos, but when the police want to question him, someone has beaten them to it, gagged the old man and knocks PPC Nicholson down. Of the sketches there is no trace. Not even in Woodford's hiding place. Somebody "accidentally" locks PPC Nicholson in one of the cells and then "forgets" all about it till next morning. A wise move because then he cannot make any mischief.

The walking disaster area PPC Nicholson comes of age and the whole village is planning a surprise party for him. To keep him - and everybody else - out of harms way Sergeant Merton sends him out to check tax discs together with PC Bellamy. Jimmy Sutton is suspected to be involved in an armed robbery and the Ashfordly police are asked to check on his whereabouts, but neither his mother nor his wife Lesley have heard from him. PC Bellamy stumbles across the robbers hiding out in the woods, and when he is injured PPC Nicholson offers to be their hostage instead. A heroic action with tragic consequences for him. Lord Ashfordly is playing host to a party of American veterans from World War II. Vernon Scripps persuades him to let the local brass band to be responsible for the entertainment. This is a bad idea because the band leader George Sugden does not like Americans and especially not this lot.

Saul Arkwright walks his dog close to Lord Ashfordly's estate when the dog is shot by one of Lord Ashfordly's guests Oliver Langley. Since Langley just drives off nearly hitting Arkwright in the process the latter see no other alternative than to make a complaint to the police. When the police do not do enough in his opinion Arkwright takes matters in his own hand. Vernon Scripps has had a new "bright" idea. He has bought a surplus U.S. Army half-track tank to drive tourists around the countryside. But since he has a boil in a very private place David has to drive the half-track for him. David only flattens half the village trying to get the hang of it.

Josie Peters is number one in her class. The class is going on a field trip, but she thinks she cannot go because her family is too poor to pay for it. Her school has a fund for situations like that, but her father will not accept any charity and insists that he will get the money himself. The night before the field trip Ralph Peel, Len Peter's employer, is mugged and the proceeds of the day are stolen. Josie also has a crush on her teacher Roger Gifford, and when her father reads about it in her diary he believes that her fantasies about him are true. The ventriloquist Ernie Dobson has died and left his dummy Enoch to David, who treats the dummy like a real person and drives Vernon Scripps mad.

Alex Robinson stays at the Aidensfield Arms while he tries to purchase land. But Ian Sinclair has beaten him to it and closed the deal with a couple of potential sellers. Lord Ashfordly has invited Robinson to dinner and he asks Gina to accompany him. His car has a flat tire and they have to go in hers. Late in the evening she feels bad and has to go home. The next morning she wakes up in her car only a couple of hundred yards from Ashfordly Hall. The previous evening Sinclair is seriously injured in a hit-and-run accident, and everything suggests that Gina is responsible. Sylvia and Linda are singers in a band, and to ensure that nothing untoward happens their father hires Vernon Scripps to drive them to and fro when they have a gig. But the loud music soon gets too much for him and David has to take over. The two girls soon discover that David is a real push-over in the hands of young females.

Tommy Rawson breeds sheep dogs and he the favourite to win this year's trials as it has done two years previously with his dog Jess. His nearest competitor is George Harding, who is a close friend of Lord Ashfordly and used to have things his own way. When he cannot win fair and square he will stop at nothing to discredit Rawson and have his dog disqualified. Harding's wife Maureen is hardly any better. She has got severe anxiety and expects Dr. Summerbee to prescribe her pills for it at will. Vernon Scripps is providing lavatory facilities for the trials and he soon discovers that it involves more than just putting up a tent or two. Good news for Sergeant Merton. His diabetes will have no bearing on his position as sergeant at the Ashfordly police station as long as he gets his medication.

Cupid's little arrows hit everybody. Even Lord Ashfordly, who surprises everybody by introducing his new wife. On the first night in Aidensfield the newlyweds are held up by two masked and armed robbers. They especially seem to be targeting Lady Ashfordly, who is assaulted again the next day, and PC Bradley is assigned as her chauffeur and body guard. Joyce Jowett's sister has died and she needs Bernie Scripps' services as an undertaker. She is very demanding and as might be expected he cannot do well - or cheap - enough.

Gordon Purvis acts tactless towards Gina and Phil Bellamy tells him to finish his drink and go. Purvis does, but on his way out he hits Bellamy with his car and drives erratically. Unfortunately the charges against him are not sufficiently substantiated and Sergeant Merton lets him go with a warning. But Merton has another and more serious reason to let him go. Scotland Yard has Purvis under surveillance and has requested their assistance in this operation. PC Bradley is the best suited for the job, but he cannot tell anybody about it. The surveillance also includes horse trainer Kieron Doyle. Tricia Summerbee is smitten by Doyle's charm and takes him up on his offer to ride one of his horses. Thus the beautiful doctor unwittingly ends up in the middle of it all. Vernon Scripps gets a visit from his brother George, who he has never met. So he is very surprised to discover that George is actually a woman. He will also soon discover that she has a very expensive lifestyle.

PC Bellamy set off in pursuit of a pursuit of a man, who supposedly stole the purse of Alice Armstrong. He does not catch the guy, but manages to retrieve the purse - minus her money. He is sure he will catch the culprit, but it may take some time because a series of break-ins at fashionable estates keep the police in Ashfordly occupied. The burglar may be a member of a small circus, which Vernon Scripps puts up for the winter. Scripps persuades Lord Ashfordly to let the exotic animals graze on his estate and open a wildlife park. But they may get more than they bargained for when the whole circus turns up and the animals escape and scatter all over Aidensfield. Col. Barber is very fond of telling stories about his exploits during the war, but his memory may not be what it used to be. Maybe it never was?

The Randalls were married in Aidensfield and they want their daughter to be wed at the same church. But Rev. Truscott is in dire need of bell ringers and asks Dr. Alway to help him out. The doctor enlists David and the Scripps's as his helpers, but bell ringing takes time to learn and not everybody in the village are that keen on the ringing of bells in and out of season. Lord Ashfordly is not satisfied with the income from his quarry. Therefore he hires Oscar Blaketon to keep an eye on the manager Mr. Briggs. Following an anonymous call the police discover that explosives are missing from the quarry. They also have to deal with the security in connection with the defence minister's visit to Fylingdales radar station. Oscar Blaketon has problems of his own. He has returned from a holiday in Spain with an accusation of violence hanging over his head.

A nasty surprise awaits PC Ventress, who is acting sergeant while Sergeant Merton is on his honeymoon. One morning an inspector of constabulary called Craig walks in and finds the police station in a mess and Ventress enjoying the homely comfort of the sergeant's chair, a sandwich and a newspaper. To his own misfortune Merton has returned early because Jenny was not feeling well, and he arrives just in time to bear the brunt of Craig's wrath. Craig's car has been stolen and his dissatisfaction only grows when Merton and his people do not drop everything else to search for it. Vernon Scripps' fortune has grown larger and larger and he is on the constant lookout for ways to increase it even further. A very promising way is shipping insurance and to make en even bigger kill he puts all his eggs in just one basket called the Torrey Canyon!

Oscar Blaketon has organized for PC Crane to take a group of troubled youths on a hike across the moors for one day. At the last moment they get an additional participant Carl Laxton, who is the cousin of Geoff, one of the other participants on the trip. But Laxton may have an ulterior motive to go on the trip. Of course Steve Crane's mother chooses that moment to pay her son another and more permanent visit by the looks of it. She has even got a job as assistant librarian under the supervision of Joyce Jowett. Needless to say they do not hit it off. Mr. Shahrishi is the leader of a sect which has just lost the place they were staying in, and while he enjoys the comfort of the Aidensfield Arms his followers must make do with a clearing in the forest, and he does not get on with anybody. He is on the lookout for at new place to stay, which gives Vernon Scripps an idea. At first Lord Ashfordly turns him down, but then changes his mind. Not a wise move on his part.

PC Crane and PC Bellamy give chase to a couple of hooligans in a car. When they pass the bus stop in Aidensfield Paul Dibley is teased by a school friend and runs right smack into the side of Bellamy's passing police car. He suffers only a broken leg and some bruises, but his father Don wants PC Bellamy prosecuted. Paul's sister Tracey has just started as a maid at Ashfordly Hall when it is discovered that she is pregnant. Understandably she is afraid to tell her father especially since the father of the baby is her cousin Lenny. To make things worse Tracey gets a crush on PC Crane and names him as the father instead when her parents find out about her pregnancy.

Lord Ashfordly has hired a new land agent Ben Norton, but not everybody is happy about the new man. Jake Clarke is convinced that Norton will tear down the tied cottages at the estate and fire all of the residents, and he organizes a protest against Norton. Norton is also opposed by Dr. Merrick, who is worried about the health of the workers. Lord Elsinby's estate including a popular fun park has to be sold to pay death duties. Vernon Scripps plans to buy some of it and sell it to Lord Ashfordly. But when he arrives only the miniature railway is left. Nat Wilmott is occasionally approached for some getaway work. He has turned straight - well straightish anyway - and he informs PC Bellamy that a gang from London is trying to hire him for a job in the Ashfordly area and they do not take no for an answer. But he disappears while Bellamy answers a call from Gina.

David sees how a man is thrown off a moving train after being assaulted and manages to get him to Dr. Merrick's surgery. When PC Crane stops the train a young man, Thomas Grant, tries to run away, but is apprehended. He claims his innocence saying he was on his way to see his girlfriend, but PC Crane finds out that he has escaped from prison. Vernon Scripps is followed by a donkey, and when he learns that this means luck according to gipsy tradition he decides to open a donkey sanctuary. Lord Ashfordly has decided to auction off some unused family heirlooms and Colin Taylor from Featherstone's auction house in London comes to Ashfordly Hall to assess the value of it. Alf Ventress has been forced to retire from the police, and the most significant change is that now he is not wearing any uniform when he is drinking his tea and eating cookies at the police station.

The panda car of the police gets stolen while being serviced by Bernie. Oscar Blaketon suspects Mr. Proctor, a guest at the Aidensfield Arms who knows nothing about the birds he claims to be studying. The car is later used at a number of burglaries where the burglar poses as a police officer. Petty stuff at first, but then both the car and its "owner" are connected with a serious break-in at a jeweller's shop. Vernon Scripps organizes an art course with the famous artist Lorenzo at Ashfordly Hall. Some of the participants are interested in other things than art. Like Miss Glenister who makes several passes at poor David. Whatever the Celia Taylor and her husband are interested in it is not each other.

PC Walker is forced off the road by Keith Baldock, but loses him when a flock of sheep crosses the road. Baldock claims he did not see him, but he may have confused him with PC Bellamy, who helped put him in jail five years earlier. Phil Bellamy has found a new love interest, Emma Dryden, after his wedding to Gina fell through. When Phil is walking her home one night he is almost run down by a speeding car and Sergeant Merton has little doubt that Keith Baldock was behind the wheel. But when Emma's son Jack is kidnapped Baldock has a perfect alibi. He occupies a cell at the Ashfordly police station. Somebody has stolen Lord Ashfordly's brand new greenhouse. As if that was not trouble enough Lord Ashfordly is also visited by Sandy and Jennifer, two relatives from Australia, and they are somewhat less formal than his lordship to say the least.

David is helping out in the kitchen during a dinner at Redwood House when the whole party is held at gunpoint by three robbers and the jewels of Joan Maltravers are stolen. The robbers get away although David manages to free himself and the cook Mrs. Woolley and call the police, but their car crashes when the police give chase and they have to continue on foot. David becomes the celebrity of the day and his fame is not diminished when he and Rosie find the stolen gems in the wrecked car. The relationship between Liz Merrick and Ben Norton has improved a lot since their first meeting so much in fact that when he is offered a job as an estate manager in Kenya he asks her to go with him - as his wife!

The day of the wedding between Dr. Liz Merrick and Ben Norton is growing near, but the happy event is overshadowed by Jenny's mental illness and Sergeant Merton seriously considers getting a transfer to be near her and able to support her. PC Walker finds an abandoned car on the moor. It is registered to Angela Price, who has been kidnapped and the kidnappers have told her husband not to involve the police. But Sergeant Merton knows Price and finds out anyway and he suspects that the kidnappers hide out in a farm they have rented from Lord Ashfordly. Ben Norton nearly misses his wedding when he is asked to assist the police because he knows the premises.

Young Denny gets hurt in a hunting accident at the Ashfordly estate. Luckily he sustains only a flesh wound. The police interview all the members of the hunting party to get a clear picture and also collect their guns for testing. But the estate manager Richard Bentham for some reason does not want them to talk to the beaters Gary and Colin, whom he tells to scarper. Bentham also fails to report an accident he has with his Land Rover because the brakes were sabotaged. Furthermore when PC Bellamy questions Denny the boy says that the shooting was no accident. That Bentham did it deliberately!

Lord Ashfordly plays host to a group of ex-offenders, who will be working on the estate under the supervision of Eric Grey as part of a rehabilitation programme. But not all of the young men are that keen on getting rehabilitated and only want to make trouble. For starters they steal Oscar Blaketon's car when he refuses to serve them at the pub. Dorothy Plum is complaining that someone is disturbing her little dog Marigold, but a search of her garden and the road outside turns up nothing. The old lady gets really worried when the dog disappears and she offers a big reward to get it back. Aunt Peggy is not a woman to let such an opportunity pass. She gets a similar dog with the help of an old friend and tries to return it to its "rightful owner" after a small makeover.

Gina discovers a cut off left hand in her dustbin. The police immediately start searching for more body parts in other dustbins in Aidensfield with no luck. The hand was in a box and in that box the police find a note in Bernie Scripps' handwriting. Bernie does not remember writing the note, but from its contents he reckons it is from a rough invoice he wrote to Ashfordly Hall. And it dates five years back. The discovery of a torso the next day leads to the conclusion that the body had been frozen until recently - and that it is murder! Speaking of freezing Aunt Peggy has bought a cheap freezer at a sale. She intends to use it for storing rabbits and pheasants, which she can sell in a store.

PC Walker arrests Ken Rawson for driving dangerously and violating just about any traffic regulation there is. Despite resisting arrest he accuses Walker of using excessive force. He also claims that he knows Sergeant Miller and that Miller soon will get him out. Christmas comes early to David when Enid Bakewell gives him her late husband's model railway. Lord Ashfordly is looking for a new housekeeper and Aunt Peggy thinks that is just the job for her. To be taken into consideration she needs a lot of references. Fabricated if necessary.

A gang of poachers is at work at the Ashfordly estate. Sergeant Miller is in pursuit, but crashes in his police car and is knocked unconscious. At the crash site the police also find a tramp, who appears to have been hit. The incident requires an official investigation, and while Sergeant Miller is not suspended he is prohibited to drive. His case is not improved when the tramp dies from his injuries. Aunt Peggy has been doing a little poaching as well, and she lands in a ditch, when she is trying to get away. She is detained by his lordship himself and sues him for pain and suffering in return. Gina gets accepted at the Art College in York. Her teacher Jack Hollins is very impressed with her - for more reasons than one obviously.

Oscar Blaketon finds Dieter Dressler walking on the moors after he had had an accident and gets him to a hospital. It turns out that Dressler was forced off the road by another car. Furthermore a valuable painting has been stolen from his cottage. As if that was not enough Lord Ashfordly's Land Rover has been stolen and he is down on Sergeant Miller to get it back. When Aunt Peggy learns that the ornithologist Alan Phelps wants to see a golden eagle she promises to show him one even though there have been no golden eagles in the area for years. But trifles like that have never stopped her before.

Vince Wain is visiting his ex-wife Brenda and their son Martin. While he is at their house he helps himself to their savings and is very surprised when Brenda goes to the police about it. During the following row Martin decides to run away and asks David to help him. They even become blood brothers and promise each other not to let each other down. Mr. Turner is cleaning windows at Ashfordly Hall when he is bitten by his lordship's dog Jack and demands that the dog is put to sleep. Lord Ashfordly even risks being charged in that he cannot prove that the dog is not a danger to the public - no easy task because Jack has quite a history in the biting department. Luckily for him help is not far away and Aunt Peggy offers to train him - the dog that is, not Lord Ashfordly.

Malcolm Fairchild has just had his car checked and MOT-tested at Bernie's garage when he loses control over the vehicle and plunges into a garden. Luckily nobody gets seriously hurt, but Bernie gets into serious trouble because the tyres are bald. The next morning he is nowhere to be found and David fears the worst.. Helen Trent's estranged husband finds out about her affair with Rob Walker and makes a complaint to Sergeant Miller, who takes the matter very seriously.

Henry Stoddard is released after 15 years in prison for killing a police constable from Ashfordly police station and moves in with his brother Jack. Stoddard has always claimed his innocence although the evidence against him was overwhelming. He says that Oscar Blaketon and Alf Ventress tricked him into confessing to avoid getting hanged. Now somebody is out to get back at both of them. And Peter, the son of the dead constable, has sworn to revenge his father's killing. Aunt Peggy comes across her birth certificate when she has to produce her driver's license after a traffic incident and discovers that she is related to Lord Ashfordly. Phil Bellamy surprises everybody by marrying Debbie Black.

PC Walker and PC Bellamy give Malcolm Stainsby a lift to his home because of his bad legs. Stainsby has been away since the war, but his wife - or rather ex-wife - Diane says that her husband Malcolm is dead. She even has his death certificate to prove it. Stainsby claims that he has only recently regained his memory after a cinema he was in was hit by a flying bomb. David and Aunt Peggy surprises a mushroom collector on their land and Aunt Peggy discovers that some people will pay good money for mushrooms. And while all mushrooms are eatable their effect may differ quite a bit. Sergeant Miller books PC Younger on a driving course. But Younger only has a provisional driver's license and needs a lot of driving experience. He gets Rosie to give him driving lessons and soon the whole village puts more into their relationship than there actually is.

Caroline Farr has trained the horse Lucifer's Revenge for the Gold Cup race, but her estranged husband Simon wants to take all the credit. The question is will he knock down her uncle Lord Ashfordly and steal the horse to get it? Well, somebody does just that. Aidensfield is invaded by a lot of bikers, who stop at the Aidensfield Arms for a drink, but Oscar Blaketon reckons they will be trouble and refuse to serve them. Rosie thinks differently and joins them for a ride. In fact she is so impressed with their leader Jamie that she takes a few days holiday to be with him. But Blaketon may be right because suddenly the church silver is missing. Phil Bellamy experiences the downside of married life when Debbie accompanies her sister to the hospital for a week and leaves him in charge of her two daughters.

Phil has gotten over Debbie's leaving him for her first husband who was not nearly as dead as she let him to believe, while Rob Walker has been away on leave after Helen's death. When Phil picks him up at the railway station they nearly collide with another car which ends up in the middle of a river. Rob saves the driver Les Cooper who is so grateful he decides to come clean, leave his former criminal life behind and make a fresh start. Oscar Blaketon tries to make Aidensfield twin with a French village where he spent his holiday. For that occasion he has invited some of his new French friends over for a big party and the first of them, Yvette Lenoir has already arrived. However Blaketon is none too pleased that Aunt Peggy's contribution will be fresh, local game. And with good reason! Carol Cassidy is the new districts nurse in Aidensfield, and she is worried about Jean Ashton who has discharged herself from hospital. But Jean's husband Dennis will not let Miss Cassidy see his wife.

Colonel Hudson holds an auction and since Aunt Peggy cannot get any more credit at Bernie's garage until she pays her bill she and David takes the soft job of driving for him. Hudson's son Duncan discovers that his young mother is having an affair with the family friend Nigel Parker. Parker gets seriously injured in an accident on his way home from a party at the Hudson estate, and when PC Walker conveys the bad news Duncan runs away. Gina and Phil think that Rob needs to get out some more and invite him and Gina's hairdresser Paula out on a double date. But the constables soon get other things on their minds when the entire police station is infected with nits. And they can only have come from PC Younger who has had lollipop duty at the school.

Rosie is walking her aunts dog Snowy when Simon Langley-Smythe shoots the dog claiming it was disturbing his pheasants. The police cannot do anything because she was on private property. But PC Walker is not quite convinced this was the only reason and questions him closely. And he may be on to something. His wife Julie has just given birth to their first child and he is down on her because the baby cries all the time and evens beats her up. Bill Galloway has trouble with some children who have some fun letting out his sheep. PC Younger is assigned to the case, but they get away from him every time. Gina and Phil announce that they are engaged to get married.

Jim Brady has returned from Africa to become the new estate manager at Ashfordly Hall, and he gets tough with his lordships tenants. It seems he wants to get rid of all of them. They will not put up with that and decides to teach him a lesson. But will they go as far as to shoot at him? David has started to collect trading stamps in order to redeem them for something nice. So much in fact that he has become quite addicted to it.

The day of Gina's and Phil's wedding is growing near. Everybody in Aidensfield are on their toes because of the big day. And Lord Ashfordly has most kindly made Ashfordly Hall available for the party. Gina and Phil have even bought a small cottage outside the village, but lose it again when the seller Albert Fogarty changes his mind. That makes Gina feel so sorry that Phil gets worried that the wedding will fail this time also. And his mood does not get any better when Jack Hollins turns up the evening before the wedding. To top it all Albert Fogarty has disappeared and nobody has seen him since he showed his cottage to Gina and Phil.

With no village bobby in Aidensfield Tommy Unsworth and his motor biking friends seizes the opportunity to make a lot of trouble in the village. Even Aunt Peggy is upset that the bikers are trespassing on Lord Ashfordly's land upsetting the natural order of things by frightening the game away and leaving her traps empty. But when it will take a while to get at permanent replacement Miller organizes a stop gap. Thus PC Joe Mason moves to Aidensfield on a temporary basis while he awaits his transfer to the Met. Mason is very resourceful and a bit of a maverick, and his senior officers were more than happy to get rid of him. The villagers are not too crazy about him either. But Unsworth is not the only source of trouble around. A professional gang from Manchester is targeting country houses in the area stealing paintings, antiques and jewelery.

PC Mason discovers that being a village bobby does not always have something to do with police work when he gives Nurse Cassidy a ride to a farm and the farmer asks him to help getting a cow out of the mud. But he also gets some real cases when somebody nicks 12 shillings from the collection in the village church and a photograph goes missing from Ashfordly Hall. Young Charlie Prentice asks for directions to Ashfordly Estate telling Oscar Blaketon that she is looking for her father and she is convinced he is Lord Ashfordly. David Stockwell decides to make a will because he is afraid to leave a mess when he dies. Maybe that was not such a good idea after all.

Walker's permanent replacement PC Wetherby arrives and it is time for PC Mason's transfer to the Met, but Mason is not so sure he wants to leave Aidensfield. Furthermore Wetherby soon makes himself unpopular among the villagers. Nurse Cassidy suspects that young Jimmy Masters gets beaten by his stepfather George Masters. Also the boy's real father Max Philpott returns from Rhodesia to see him, and there is a rough and tumble between him and Masters at the Aidensfield Arms. Gina and Oscar Blaketon organize a quiz show at the pub to collect 200 pounds for a new dialysis machine. Not surprisingly Peggy Armstrong tries to cheat and is far from happy to get caught.

Everybody is shocked over Phil Bellamy's death, and especially his wife Gina cannot believe he is gone. After the funeral she says she has decided to go back to Liverpool to make a clean break from the past. Headquarters has agreed to let PC Mason stay in Aidensfield, and PC Wetherby, who blames himself for Bellamy's death, fills the vacancy at the police station in Ashfordly. A teacher from Brassington School on the moor is found dead in his home after an apparent suicide. From his headmaster Anthony Barlow PC Mason and DS Dawson learn that he suffered from a depression over the death of one of his pupils on a school trip, but Mason is sure something is not right. Unaware that he nearly hit a cyclist with his car old Arthur Chiltern drives on, but the cyclist Dr. Oakley wants him charged with reckless driving. Nurse Cassidy tries to persuade him to drop the charges. She succeeds with something else as well when the handsome doctor asks her out.

Somebody paints a pentagram on the church door in Eltering and Rev. Peggotty is convinced that the church has been targeted for black Masses by followers of the dark arts. And he may be right because a few days later Kord Ashfordly's godson Charles Enderby is found beaten up and terrified in the church, and in the churchyard gravestones sprayed with red paint and overturned. Almost like the record cover of a band, Enderby once managed. Doctor Oakley has invited some colleagues over for dinner and Nurse Cassidy asks Gina to cook for them. One of the guests the psychiatrist Paul Hammond has heard of Gina's loss and wants to help her come to terms with her grief. But that is not what has been bothering her. She has just discovered that she is pregnant again!

Derek Gorman is mad at the police because he has lost his drivers licence for drunk driving. He claims that they set him up and he swears revenge to Sergeant Miller. The next morning the police station has been broken into and rummaged through. Later somebody steels a patrol car in front the very eyes of PC Younger. Is it Gorman or the Leeds gangster Jimmy Faye looking for Alec Fletcher, whom the police is hiding because he wants to testify against him? Lord Ashfordly is looking for a new game keeper. Oscar Blaketon and Gina suggest to Aunt Peggy in fun that she applies for the job and she thinks it is an excellent idea. Lord Ashfordly does not! PC Mason's past catches up with him when his old girl friend Doreen turns up in Aidensfield looking for work. After a broken marriage she is not uninterested in reviving the relationship.

Gordon Radford and Lord Ashfordly are not the best of friends. As a matter of fact Radford is not on friendly terms with anybody. He is Master of Ashfordly Hunt and when somebody vandalizes his study during the hunt suspects are plenty in number, but Radford suspects Lord Ashfordly and takes it out on him in a very physical manner. Aunt Peggy uses David's aniseed balls to lure the hunting party across her garden in order to claim a huge compensation. But she does not fool Oscar Blaketon. PC Mason is on the lookout for a car and Bernie has just the one for him. Low mileage and only one careful owner - a nun none the less, but Mason is more interested in a sports car owned by the late fighter pilot Ginger Wells.

Sue Padgett and Nick Payton burn a brand new fur coat as a protest against the fur trade. Payton is determined to make a name for himself as an activist in the animal welfare movement and uses the girl as a willing tool. PC Mason suggests they deprive Payton of the publicity he wants to sabotage his plans. Sid Bestwick and his wife Marge want their daughter Tina to meet young men and get settled, and Sid has a word with David Stockwell about it. Aunt Peggy thinks he hit the jackpot, but David is not so sure. The school girl Lynne Reynolds is about to give birth and wants to give her baby up for adoption. Nurse Cassidy has her hospitalized as a precaution and hopes to change her mind about the adoption because she does not want the baby to grown up in a home as she did. When Dr. Oakley disagrees, and Carol breaks up with him.

Jocelyn and Rupert Middleton's 17-year-old daughter Vivienne has gone missing. She has an American boyfriend called Bobby Wilson that her parents do not approve of. They think he is only in the country to avoid the draft for the Vietnam War. But Bobby has not seen her either. Someone steals a bronze sculpture from Sir Piers Radley's estate and another one from Lord Ashfordly. They have even taken his lordship's gates and he wants some action - now. David is cleaning up the shed and finds a metal detector. He gives it a good clean, a bit of oil and a new battery and is ready to go treasure hunting. At first Aunt Peggy thinks he is talking nonsense, but she changes her mind after a small demonstration.

A stranger collapses on the lawn of Ashfordly Hall. He is called Mickey Todd and has been beaten up pretty badly, but is very reluctant to talk to the police. Later Nurse Cassidy sees a pregnant, young woman in the village, who also shows all the signs of a thorough beating, and patches her up. Is she the victim of the same assailant? At least she belongs to the same group of traveling hippies as he does. PC Wetherby is doing some private investigating of his own and discovers that his wife is having an affair. He takes it out on Lord Ashfordly's game keeper Frank Kelly who is found dead the next morning with his throat cut. But Kelly may also have had a clash with the hippies who falsely accused him of assaulting Mickey Todd. David has to fight the competition from another taxi company and also has problems with his own taxi. It turns out that his taxi was sabotaged, and Aunt Peggy is sure that the owner of the other company - Ma Barker - is behind it.

A cat burglar is causing the police endless worry. He is targeting the wealthy houses of the area, and PC Mason suspects the window cleaner Tommy Hugget who has form, but his wife Betty gives him an alibi. However Mason is convinced that they are hiding something. Major Giles MacLean makes quite an impression on Carol Cassidy when he asks her for directions to Ashforly Hall. The major is on his way to his regiment reunion i Edinburgh and takes his lordship up on his offer to stay a couple of nights. But he too is the victim of the cat burglar. Aunt Peggy is outraged when David finds a young woman camping out on his field - without paying, but changes her tune when she discovers that the woman is her old friend Sofia. And she cannot get them hitched fast enough when David and Sofia feel attracted to each other. It is hard for Bernie to mind both the garage and the funeral parlour and he looks forward to Rosie's return from Australia. But not even her family has heard from her for several months, and when her sheep-shearing friend Mick turns up in Aidensfield asking for her Bernie and her father fear that something has happened to her.

There is counterfeit money in circulation in Aidensfield - and lots of them. The money was made by a gang run by Jim Bly, but neither Bly nor his girlfriend Ruthie Abbott were ever captured, and DS Dawson thinks they may be in the area. Sergeant Miller gets a surprise visit from his wife. Her train broke down just outside Ashfordly and now she has been left stranded. But the good sergeant is none too pleased to see her. Especially not after she has been caught shoplifting. And she is not making things easier for him. Bernie reads in the newspaper that his big idol Judy Garland got married in London and plans to settle down in a British country house - maybe even Yorkshire. And indeed an American woman moves into one of the cottages with her husband. She calls herself Judy Dean, but soon everybody knows who she really is - or do they? Anyway Aunt Peggy cannot help cashing in on it.

Harry Brown has an accident when the steering gear of his tractor fails. PC Mason suspects sabotage, but Brown does not want any fuss. As a matter of fact he just wants the police to forget it ever happened. And with good reason too because Brown is not very popular with the other sheep farmers and most of them have it in for him. Old Mrs. Brooks has died and Aunt Peggy's solicitor Ronnie Smethers is the executor of her estate. Aunt Peggy offers her services to clear the house - at a reasonable charge, of course. Not surprisingly, she can't help picking out the good stuff and selling it herself. When she leaves David alone in the cottage, he hears strange noises and gets afraid they have upset the old lady's ghost. Gina has hired young, handsome Billy Garrett to help out at the Aidensfield Arms while Oscar Blaketon is away on a golfing trip to Scotland, and especially Dawn feels attracted to him. He takes her out a couple of times, but suddenly he turns moody and withdrawn and does not want to see her any more.