Heist suspect ‘fled prison van as guard was shot’

A suspect in an attempted £1 million robbery went on the run for five years after being freed by armed men who shot a prison guard on the streets of London, a jury heard today.

Noel Cunningham was being driven to court in a prison van in June 2003 when at least two armed men intercepted it near Elephant and Castle and shot a guard in the leg, Woolwich crown court was told. The guard gave up the keys and Cunningham and his friend Clifford Hobbs escaped. Cunningham, 48, was arrested in Holland last autumn and deported to stand trial.

Mark Gadsden, prosecuting, said Cunningham and Hobbs had originally been arrested in March 2003 for planning an attack on a security van in Brixton. Their getaway car, a BMW 530i, had been stolen and refitted with false number plates registered to City of London Police. They had an inside man in the van ready to give them access to £1 million in cash and cheques.

But the alarm bells started flashing and they were pursued by Met police. Cunningham scaled a 15ft fence but injured his ankle and was arrested.

Both men were on their way to Inner London Crown Court to answer charges over the raid when the prison van was intercepted. Cunningham, of Rotherhithe, denies two charges of possessing a firearm and two counts of unlawfully wounding van guard Neil Chetty, as part of a joint enterprise.

Hobbs was arrested in Spain in August 2007 and deported back to Britain. He and Cunningham admitted conspiracy to steal over the attempted security van heist.

The case continues.