Guard shot by armed robbers at Tesco

A security guard was in a critical condition yesterday after being shot by armed robbers as he delivered cash to a supermarket. The incident happened outside the Tesco store in the market town of Tring, Hertfordshire, at about 7.40am.

A passer-by who tried to intervene was also shot, but was not thought to have life-threatening injuries. The guard, in his thirties, was delivering cash from a Group Four Securicor van when he was attacked. He was taken to Stoke Mandeville hospital where surgeons operated on him. His condition was described as "critical".

Police are searching for two men who stole the guard's cash box and escaped on a Triumph motorbike, registration number P354 JYB, which they dumped near by. The men are believed to have made off in a second vehicle, thought to be a white van.

Det Ch Insp Mike Hanlon, who is investigating the raid, said a number of shots were fired. He said: "This was a targeted pre-planned incident."