PC Lathom was involved in the lives of the residents of Coronation Street on two occasions in 2003:
In January, he and colleague PC Glaister were called to 4 Coronation Street where Ashley Peacock had just discovered the dead body of his wife Maxine and the badly injured form of babysitter Emily Bishop, both victims of Richard Hillman. The policemen quickly spotted the break-in at the back door, staged by Richard to make it appear that local tearaway Aidan Critchley was responsible and, as a matter of procedure, made arrangements for Ashley to be taken away for questioning.
In April, Lathom almost arrested Kirk Sutherland on a charge of kerb-crawling. Kirk was trying to find anyone who knew a man with a Jack Russell terrier who may have been witness to an incident when PC Mick Hopwood beat up Les Battersby and then claimed that Les had assaulted him first. Kirk, approaching passing young ladies, wasn’t to know that he was in a red-light district. Lathom let Kirk go when he “acted” dumb and innocent and also when he found he was carrying only 70p on him.