Bank raid hero lucky to survive
Published: January 20, 2006
A close friend of the former Prime Minister, John Major, was shot at point-blank range as he tried to stop armed robbers in Southgate, the Old Bailey heard this week.
Ian Cameron Black, 66, godfather to Mr Major’s son James, tried to stop the burglary at HSBC bank, in The Broadway, Southgate, on August 21, 2003, when Wayne Colligan allegedly shot him in the stomach.
It was one in a series of bank raids across north London carried out by Colligan, 35, and his accomplice, Wayne Ellis, 31, the court heard.
Prosecutor Martin Heslop QC told the jury: “A member of the public was brave enough to intervene after he had already heard the robbers fire their guns in the bank.”
Mr Cameron Black tackled Ellis to the ground as the pair tried to escape and Colligan came to his accomplice’s aid.
“He Colligan then raised the gun he had, he aimed it at Mr Cameron Black’s head and body and fired it at a range of something like 18 inches,” said Mr Heslop. “Miraculously it seems the gun was fired just as Mr Cameron Black moved, whether to get out of the way or get up and the bullet passed through his body. As it was, he received only minor injuries and only required to be detained in hospital overnight.”
The court heard Ellis had already mounted five robberies targeting security vans as they arrived to restock banks.
This time however, the court heard, he waited outside, chatting girls up before ramming a car through the window of the bank. Mr Heslop said: “The robberies were well planned, timed with precision and ruthlessly executed.”
He added: “They robbers were armed and disguised with balaclavas over their faces. There can be no doubt the robberies terrified the security guards and bank employees.”
The trial continues.
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