Gangster behind armed robbery spree 'was shot dead by police as he held security guard at gunpoint'

Mark Nunes, 35, stole £500,000 during an 18-month crime spree which targeted armoured vehicles delivering cash to High Street banks, Kingston Crown Court heard.

But his 'luck ran out' when armed police shot dead him and associate Andrew Markland, 36, after lying in wait outside a bank in Chandler's Ford, Hampshire, the prosecution said.

Crime scene: Police around the bank where Mark Nunes was shot dead

Brendan Kelly, opening the prosecution case, said: 'Despite their skills, their planning and to a degree, their patience, their luck ran out.

'By September 13, the Metropolitan Police had identified at least some of the culprits of this spree of robberies.

'Once some of the culprits were identified, they were followed.

'On the morning of September 13, 2007, Mark Nunes, 35, and accomplice Andrew Markland, 36, were under surveillance as they drove to Chandler's Ford, a small town in Hampshire.'

He continued: 'At about 10am, these two struck again.

'Again their victim was a Group 4 Security guard but this time there was a difference.

'Armed police officers both undercover and secluded in various buildings in the vicinity of the HSBC bank were watching.

Forensic examination: A forensic officer scours the outside of the bank

'They saw Nunes point a loaded firearm at the head of the guard and as he did so, he was shot dead to protect the life of the guard.

'As Markland went to pick up the gun, he too was shot dead.'

The getaway driver, Terrence Wallace, 26, was arrested later that day after fleeing the scene, the court heard.

Wallace sped off in a blue Volvo that was later found abandoned at Basingstoke railway station.

By the time Nunes was shot dead, his campaign of terror had stretched across southern England, from Ipswich and Cambridge in the east to Bristol and Bath in the west, the jury heard.

Wallace, 26, and three other alleged members of the robbery gang - Adrian Johnson, 28, Leroy Wilkinson, 29, and Victor Iniodu, 34 - deny conspiracy to rob.

Johnson also denies charges of possessing prohibited weapons and stealing a cash box containing £25,000.

The court heard that before the trial three men - Leroy Hall, Leon McKenzie and Brian Henry - had pleaded guilty to being part of the conspiracy led by Nunes.

The trial continues.