Constable in the Dale — Nicholas Rhea

To an untrained eye, the villages of rural Yorkshire may seem quiet enough but, as he patrols his beat on foot or on his trusty Francis Barnett motorcycle, young PC Nick is privy to many an unfolding drama. He is on hand to help out when Aidensfield decides to enter the Best Kept Village competition and finds itself the victim of a dirty tricks campaign by its rivals. Then there is the mystery of the spontaneously combusting henhouse, and PC Nick has to cope with the consequences when the vicar tries a novel way of keeping the churchyard tidy. "The Constable" stories are a delightful description of life as a young policeman in Yorkshire, and the inspiration behind the immensely popular Heartbeat TV series.