Cash raid bank terror

SMOKE signals . . . the moment a security van is targeted outside Barclays in Shaw

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EYEWITNESSES have described the terrifying moment armed robbers attacked a security man outside Barclays Bank in Shaw before speeding off with cash.

The incident happened at around 2pm yesterday when six raiders in a white Ford Transit parked up beside a G4S vehicle outside the bank.

Two men began to attack the cash-in-transit driver and managed to flee with money boxes containing a large amount of cash ­- one of which they later dropped.

The van then crashed near Aldi, further down the road but the robbers managed to get away.

Clouds of smoke filled the street, which is believed to have been released after a security mechanism was triggered by bank staff.

One witness was taking her baby daughter home on the bus when she witnessed the ordeal. She called her dad as soon as it happened who then came to collect her.

She said: "About five or six guys came out of the back of the van, they went and grabbed the man. They had crowbars. The bus came round and tried to block the van and then another bus tried blocking it the other way. The guys then grabbed one of the money boxes. They sped off the other way.

"They were dressed in black and wearing black ski masks. There was smoke coming out of the bank.

"They were hitting him with the crowbars. He was on the ground, he was clutching his stomach as they whacked him.

"I was very scared, I panicked."

One man, who wished not to be named, was inside Barclays at the time when he realised something was happening outside.

He said: "There was a lot of smoke because the security system went off in the bank. You could see there was a commotion that had started.

"A lot of people tried to get the people who tried to rob the driver. They took off in a vehicle but I didn't see it.

"The security driver was being checked over in the ambulance, he had a cut to the forehead. It all happened very quickly, there wasn't any time to be scared."

Another man, who did not want to be named, was smoking a cigarette outside the pub when he witnessed the incident.

He said: "I saw the white van pull up near the bank. Three jumped out of the side door and another one or two jumped out. About three started attacking the security guy, they were trying to get him out of the van, they were shouting. There were at least six in total.

"The buses came and tried to block them. You could see them speeding off after. They dropped a money box outside Iceland. One woman hit one of them with a shopping bag. Apparently the van crashed into a house facing Aldi."

A GMP spokesman said: "Police were called at around 2.05pm to reports of an armed robbery at Barclays Bank on Market Street, Shaw. Three men approached a cash-in-transit driver and fled the scene in a white Ford Transit van with what is believed to be a significant amount of cash. The cash-in-transit driver suffered minor injuries.

"A short time later, a white Ford Transit van was found on Sumner Street and had been set alight. Officers are currently at the scene and enquiries are ongoing to ascertain the full circumstances.

"Anyone with information should contact police on 101 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111."