Armed police swoop on truck

Officers from West Mercia Police stopped a Ford Transit flat-bed truck in Bilford Road, with three men inside.

A police 4x4 stopped the truck as it drove towards Rainbow Hill by driving across the front of it near the road junction, blocking any exit along Bilford Road or Astwood Road.

A passing driver caught up in the resulting traffic jam managed to take the picture on the front page as the police operation unfolded at 9.38am on Sunday morning.

Armed officers travelling in an unmarked Range Rover with blacked-out windows were seen getting the men out of the truck.

They were acting on intelligence suggesting at least one of the men may have been in possession of a firearm, according to a police spokesman.

Two of the men were released at the scene and the remaining man was yesterday released without charge.

An unmarked Ford Mondeo with sirens sounding and blue lights flashing arrived shortly afterwards, followed by a marked squad car.

Eric Birch, a retired firefighter who lives in Bilford Road, initially thought there had been a road accident when he saw a man on the ground with a police officer standing over him.

“I slowed right down as I was driving along the road past the junction with Astwood Road,” he said.

“Then this unmarked grey car with lights and sirens came past me on the opposite side of the road, which is when I saw the transit van up ahead.

“I have a first aid kit in my truck and thought I might get out to help, but then it became clear it wasn’t an accident.

“The officers were stood in a semi-circle around the Transit van. One officer had his knee on the neck of one of the guys who was lying on the ground.

“Another guy was led out of the cab of the van by another armed officer, and they had another guy down by the back wheels on the ground.”

A police spokesman said the force acted on “genuine information” presented to officers 24 hours before the operation.

“Fortunately, in this case the outcome is that no illegal firearms were found in circulation.”