Armed police arrested three suspected fleeing robbers in a dramatic sting in Agecroft, Salford tonight.
Eyewitnesses in rush-hour traffic told how a Jaguar sped down Kersal Vale Road and smashed over a police stinger.
At around 5.30pm firearms police were lying in wait for a car at the junction of Kersal Vale Road and Agecroft Road, near Forest Bank prison.
A high-powered car, believed to be a Jaguar, sped over a police spike strip and ran off the road.
Four men inside exited the vehicle and were chased on foot by armed and masked firearms police.
Police were following suspects from the scene of an earlier robbery at a BP garage in Atherton, Wigan, where staff were held up by a gang of machete-wielding men.
The force helicopter, India 99, was drafted in to help capture the men as they escaped down Agecroft Road.
“I saw it all,” said an eyewitness sat at the mini-roundabout as it happened.
“At the time I was driving from work in Middleton to my home in Irlams o’th Height.
“I was at the mini-roundabout when police threw a stinger and the car crashed.
“Four lads legged it.
“Two police 4x4s were smoking from the bonnet.”
Large numbers of fast-response and undercover cars descended on the scene, blocking the suspect car in place.
A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police confirmed: “Three males were arrested on Kersal Vale Road at 5.30pm.
“This was an ongoing operation involving armed officers and the Tactical Vehicle Crime Unit.
“This was from an earlier armed robbery in Atherton, in which machetes were used.
“All three men were arrested on suspicion of robbery.”
Witnesses are urged to call Greater Manchester Police on 101 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.
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