Guard shot in city bank robbery

Shops and banks have been cordoned off

A security guard has been shot and a member of the public injured during an armed robbery in one of Newport's main shopping streets.

Shops and banks were cordoned off after the incident outside the Halifax bank on Commercial Street around 1045 BST on Monday.

Witnesses told the BBC news website how a dark vehicle drove off at high speed after the incident.

Police say the injured guard, 55, "could easily have been killed".

Both men were being detained in hospital overnight.

Detectives have appealed for witnesses to contact them, and they have issued a special plea to a number of people seen taking photographs with mobile phones during the incident to come forward.

These are dangerous men... They need to be caught before they strike again Supt Geoff Ronayne

Detectives said the guard, a Securicor employee, was shot in the leg while a member of the public suffered a blow to the head.

Both were taken to hospital for treatment and remained there on Monday night.

The guard was said to be in a stable condition. The injury sustained by the member of the public was not thought to have been serious.

Supt Geoff Ronayne, of Gwent Police, said: "It was more by luck than judgement that the guard wasn't killed. His injury is not life-threatening at the moment."

The three robbers drove down Commercial Street in a blue or black Mitsubishi van, jumped out and grabbed the guard who was inside the bank.

Camera footage

A scuffle broke out and a member of the public was hit on the head as he tried to help the guard, who was then taken outside the bank and shot in the thigh.

Card shop manager Melanie Griffiths heard the shooting

Detectives said the robbers stole a number of security boxes containing a "substantial amount of money" before escaping.

They were captured on CCTV driving at speed down Commercial Street, causing some pedestrians to leap out of the way, and into Skinner Street where cameras lost sight of them.

One of the boxes were recovered a short distance away at a junction known as the old green roundabout.

Supt Ronayne said: "There was a considerable element of planning, therefore, I'm looking for people who have seen this black or blue Mitsubishi vehicle or seen these individuals in Newport before."

More than 40 officers are investigating the robbery and are looking for three men - two black and one white.

'Family man'

They were believed to be wearing balaclavas or "headgear of some sort" during the attack.

Supt Ronayne added: "These are dangerous men. They had no qualms about shooting someone in an open street and we are concerned about them attacking again.

"They need to be caught before they strike again."

Melanie Griffiths, manager of a card shop in Commercial Street, said: "I heard a loud bang and then it was like the racing of a car.

"And then you actually saw the car speeding past the window and you could just see people diving into doorways and grabbing kids and stuff off the street,"

Police said the Securicor guard was a "family man" who had worked for the company for a number of years.

The company has offered a "substantial reward" for information leading to the conviction of the robbers.