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Prisoner on loose after van hijack
Justin Davenport and Kiran Randhawa12.01.09
A HUGE manhunt was under way today after a suspected violent criminal was freed from custody when a gunman hijacked the private security van taking him to court.
Wayne Connor, 20, was being driven to Woolwich crown court for a hearing after being charged with aggravated burglary and two racist assaults.
Connor was with two other prisoners when the Serco van was forced off the road by a dark blue car minutes after it left Feltham Young Offender Institution at about 7.30am today.
Two men wearing balaclavas, one of them with a shotgun, surrounded the van and smashed the driver's window demanding Connor's release. The three men then drove off at high speed in the blue hatchback. No shots were fired.
One witness told how he saw the driver of the van being beaten up by two men. The 30-year-old sales manager said he woke to "a lot of noise, the sound of breaking glass and the sound of banging against metal".
The witness said: "I immediately got out of bed and opened the curtains and was horrified to see a man being beaten up by two men just outside the window. The man, who appeared to be the driver of the van, then collapsed in front of his vehicle and there was lots of blood coming from his head.
"Then the two men I saw disappeared behind the van but then re-emerged with a third man from behind the van before speeding away in a navy blue hatchback car which was parked directly in front of the van. They were all white with very short hair." The ambush took place in front of the occupants of about 20 cars in Bedfont Road, just 400 metres from The Clockhouse roundabout on the A30 in Feltham.
The witness added: "The whole thing lasted for about two to three minutesWhen the blue hatchback left some men got out of their cars and ran over to the driver and wrapped him up in a coat, like a blanket." Connor, a member of the travelling community from Hertfordshire, was due in court alongside Jason McInerney and a third man.
McInerney, also 20, escaped from custody last March when he jumped out of the dock at Reading crown court and bit a policeman's nose. He was recaptured. The trio are accused of a racially-aggravated assault during a burglary in West Drayton on 4 August last year. There were questions today over how the gunman and his accomplice knew which prison van to target. One possibility was that Connor had a mobile phone.
A spokesman for Serco said the driver suffered minor injuries and another member of staff was unhurt. Two other prisoners in the van were secured.Police warned the public to call 999 if they see Connor but not to approach him.
Reader views (2)
I think personally, that H.M.P.S. (Her Majesty Prison Service.) Personnel should be armed with guns when escorting prisoners to and from court and also when escorting them to Prison's/Y.O.I.
I also think it's dispicable that they beat up the driver he was just doing his job.
- Gary, Aberdeen-Scotland
easy peasy lemon squeezy, all the hard work in catching this man gone in a flash and now more work has to be done to catch him again.
When they do I hope he gets a much longer sentence and a armed police escort to court.
- John.L., Scarborough N.Yks U.K.
