A prisoner is on the run today after being sprung from a secure van on the way to court with the help of two armed men in balaclavas.

Wayne Joseph Connor, 20, was being transported to Woolwich Crown Court in South London where he was to stand trial for armed burglary and racially aggravated assault when he was set free in a violent ambush.

Two men approached the vehicle in Feltham, West London, and smashed the driver's side window before threatening the security guards with a shotgun and demanding the release of Mr Connor, who was driven away from the scene in a dark blue vehicle.

The driver of the van, operated by the Serco security company, required hospital treatment for cuts and bruises after he was forced to stop at about 7.30am.

Detective Inspector Alan Holford said the police were now on the trail of the armed and violent gang.

“Wayne Connor is a member of the traveller community in Hertfordshire,” he said. “Mr Connor and the men with him are known to use aliases and false documents. They used violence today and have access to weapons.”

Mr Holford said the public should not approach Mr Connor or his accomplices. “He is known to assault people, and he is known to use violence, as we have seen here today,” he said. “It is not just about finding Mr Connor, but also about finding the men who brandished a firearm on the streets of Feltham this morning.”

Mr Connor, who was due to appear in the dock alongside two alleged accomplices, is charged with racially aggravated actual bodily harm against two people; actual bodily harm, two counts of burglary and one count of aggravated burglary. Aggravated burglary is theft using a weapon, often a firearm, the maximum sentence for which is life in prison.

Serco said that the driver suffered minor injuries and another member of staff was unhurt. Two other prisoners were on board. “We are assisting fully with the police inquiry, he said.”

Police cordoned off several roads as they investigated the escape in Bedfont Road, near Bedfont Lake, in Feltham.

The Metropolitan Police said: “Police were called at 7.48am on January 12 to reports of a prison van stopped by a suspect, believed armed, near Bedfont Lake, Feltham.

“Local officers and London Ambulance Service attended. The driver of the van is believed to have been assaulted. He was taken by London Ambulance Service to hospital. He is in a stable condition. No shots were fired.

“A prisoner from the van has absconded and made off with the suspect in a vehicle.”

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