Manhunt ends in shootout on farm road: A driver dead, three policemen injured, one man in hospital

policemen injured in a shootout.

A man carrying a shotgun was wounded by police after he opened fire on

them.

A 29-year-old man, arrested following the police shootings, was

detained in hospital with chest wounds under police supervision. Police

confirmed that the man arrested was Mr Andrew Sommerville. They had been

searching for him since Wednesday after he allegedly abducted, then

released his former girlfriend.

Police said a murder inquiry was under way in connection with the

young man's death.

A couple had been abducted around midnight on Saturday near Whitburn

in West Lothian. They had been in a barn when a man is understood to

have stumbled across them and ordered them at gunpoint in to their black

Ford Capri car.

The driver of the car, Mr Craig Anderson, 24, from Whitburn, and his

fiancee Ms Jacqueline Fisher, 22, from Harthill, were then ordered to

drive about 10 miles to Crosswoodburn Reservoir, on the A70 Edinburgh to

Lanark road, where Mr Anderson was shot dead and his body dumped.

The man then drove the girl back to Whitburn where she was thrown from

the car. Although said to be in a very distressed state, she managed to

raise the alarm by flagging down a passing police patrol car.

Strathclyde Assistant Chief Constable Roy Cameron said police in two

cars, from Strathclyde and Lothian and Borders police, later followed a

black Ford Capri but lost sight of it. They stopped near Braehead Road

south of the village of Forth in Lanarkshire for a briefing.

Mr Cameron said a man armed with a shotgun appeared on foot and fired

on the two police cars.

Seven officers, four of them armed, had come under fire, and two from

Strathclyde and one from Lothian and Borders were injured after an

exchange of shots.

The man was shot by officers from the Strathclyde Police Tactical

Firearms Unit, four of whom were in one of the police cars with a local

officer. The second police car contained two officers from the Lothian

and Borders force.

A man was taken to Law Hospital, Carluke, with chest wounds where he

was said to be in a ''stable'' condition last night.

The man had apparently driven 200 yards down a farm road and ran back

about 100 yards where he began shooting at police.

Mr Cameron said: ''There was a return of fire and a man was wounded. I

can confirm that the person arrested is Andrew Sommerville, aged 29.''

Police had been searching for Mr Somerville since Wednesday after the

alleged abduction of a woman and the theft of firearms.

Meanwhile, other police officers had discovered Mr Anderson's body at

a picnic area near Crosswoodburn Reservoir.

Two of the injured officers received gunshot wounds and the other was

hit by flying glass, but none was seriously hurt and all were later

discharged from hospital.

The two Strathclyde officers were named as Constable James Boyd, 31,

based at Lanark, and Constable Peter Cavanagh, 33, based in Glasgow. The

third injured policeman, Constable Chris Hume, 32, is on the Lothian and

Borders force.

The shooting involving police happened at Mid Henshilwood Farm,

Braehead Road, one mile from the village of Braehead and two miles south

of Forth.

Braehead Road was blocked yesterday morning as police forensic experts

examined the scene of the shooting and the black Ford Capri was taken

away for further examination.

Farmer Archie Orr, 70, who lives in Forth's Main Street, but still

works Mid Henshilwood Farm daily, learned of the incident only when

police woke him in the middle of the night to see if the farm was

occupied. ''I told them it wasn't and went back to bed,'' he said.

Mr Robert Martin, 23, from Forth, was returning from a disco in

Coatbridge with a friend shortly after the police chase ended.

He said: ''I saw several police vehicles on Braehead Road with their

lights flashing as I tried to turn down to run my friend home. I asked

if there had been a crash but was told no.'' He said he realised it

might involve the man police were looking for.

The dead man's parents, Jim and Jean, were too upset to talk about

their son's death at their home in West Main Street, Whitburn,

yesterday.

His fiancee was said to be deeply shocked following her ordeal; she

was not injured. No-one at her parents' home in West Benhar Road,

Harthill, would comment yesterday.

One of Mr Anderson's closest friends, Mr William Davidson, 19, from

Shotts, said he had become engaged just before Christmas. ''They had

just put in an offer for a house and were planning to get married,'' he

said.

Mr Davidson said Mr Anderson worked for his family's firm as a diesel

mechanic for the past 14 months. The firm, Davidson Bros of Shotts,

manufactures and supplies animal feed.

Describing Craig as ''one of the nicest guys you could meet,'' he said

their friendship had grown through Craig working for his father. The two

young men spent Saturday afternoon together in Glasgow shopping for car

accessories.

Neighbours of Mr Anderson, who lived in West Main Road, Whitburn with

his parents and elder brother Jim, described him as very respectable.

''He was just a quiet big lad,'' said Mr Robert Wood, 21, who lived next

door to Mr Robertson for 20 years, before he moved last year.

Timetable

of terror

Wednesday, May 12. 5.30am.

Mother-of-four Jane Wilson, 24, is abducted from her home in Harthill

by a heavily armed man. She is held for an hour which sparks off a

police hunt for her alleged abductor, Andrew Sommerville, 29, a former

boyfriend.

Thursday, May 13. 5am.

The hunt begins afresh as dawn breaks in the hilly and wooded area on

the East Lanarkshire/West Lothian border where Mr Sommerville is

believed to be hiding. It has emerged that he is in possession of a

powerful semi-automatic rifle, a shotgun and a pistol -- the property of

friends with whom Mr Sommerville had been staying.

Friday, May 14, 2pm

Mr Sommerville's parents Don and Anne appeal to their son to give

himself up. Mr Sommerville senior says his son is not specially trained

in survival skills.

Saturday, May 15, 10am.

Police issue a warning to people planning to spend the weekend in the

countryside around the search area to stay away or be on their guard.

Sunday, May 16, 12.15am.

A courting couple are abducted at gunpoint by an armed man and forced

to drive from a farm near Whitburn to a reservoir on the A70 Edinburgh

to Lanark Road. The man, Mr Craig Anderson, 24, is shot dead and his

fiancee, Miss Jacqueline Fisher, 22, is driven back to Whitburn where

she alerts passing police officers.

1.30am. A stolen car is pursued by officers from Lothian and Borders

and Strathclyde police forces but contact with the target vehicle is

lost south of Forth.

2.30am. Seven police officers, four of them armed, come under fire as

they hold a roadside briefing as the hunt continues. Three are slightly

injured. A man is shot in the chest. He is taken with the policemen to

Law Hospital, Carluke, for treatment and a guard mounted on him.

7.30am. Police confirm that Mr Andrew Sommerville has been arrested, a

murder inquiry involving both forces is under way and reports are being

prepared for the procurator-fiscal.