Chron man Ian is left shaken by gun terror
A man has been apprehended by police after drama unfolded near the Chronicle & Echo's offices when one of the newspaper's transport team was threatened with a gun while behind the wheel of a company van.
Ian Biggs, who has worked for the Chron for more than 20 years, was leaving the office car park in The Mounts, Northampton, in a company van at about 10am yesterday morning when he was confronted by three men in a large white van, two of whom were brandishing guns.
He said: "I had just pulled out of the yard to go to deliver some property papers, as I do regularly.
"I was in Great Russell Street about to turn right into Clare Street when a large white van drove past.
"There were three men in there. The two in the passenger seats had guns and the one in the middle was pointing his directly at me."
The 44-year-old said: "It was the first time I'd ever had a gun pointed at me and it was pretty scary.
"It could have been a BB gun or a plastic replica but it certainly looked real from where I was sitting."
Last night police confirmed they had apprehended a man in connection with the incident, and said he was being questioned by officers.
The three men in the van came from the Kettering Road direction and turned left at the end of Clare Street into neighbouring Earl Street, in the direction of the town centre.
Mr Biggs said at first he had not noticed anything suspicious.
He said: "I was looking at the van and waiting for it to drive past so I could turn, when I noticed a movement in the vehicle that caught my eye. It was then I realised someone was pointing a gun at me, just aiming it directly at me.
"I don't know much about guns but the one that was pointing at me looked a bit like an Uzi.
"The other man just had a normal handgun.
"I can't remember anything else about the men or the van. All I was doing was looking at the weapon."
As the van turned into Earl Street it passed a police officer on duty in a marked car, and Mr Biggs was able to stop and ask the officers for help.
He said: "We only had a brief conversation. I said there were some men in a van and two of them in the passenger seats had weapons.
"He said 'OK', then turned the car around and went after the van through The Mounts."
A spokesman for Northamptonshire Police confirmed the force had apprehended a man in connection with the incident.
The man was being questioned by officers as the Chron went to press last night.
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Saturday 04 February 2012
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