Stafford Street mystery – an answer

Yesterday, Audlem Online published a request for further information about a curious incident on Friday afternoon at about 2.30pm in Stafford Street, Audlem.

A white van, of the armoured variety, stopped and a voice, rather squeaky we are told, announced through a speaker: "Help, we are under attack. Call the police."

The van did have a message on its rear saying 'Police car following' which may have confused anyone wondering about the cry for help.

One clue arrived from an Audlem couple who were in Market Drayton last week. What sounds like the same van, literally sounds like, as it was broadcasting the same message for hours, was stuck in the middle of Market Drayton.

It appeared that the driver was marooned inside. It sounds like a faulty vehicle or an operator who presses the alarm button, which presumably seals him or her inside until help arrives.

We have also been told, on good authority, that basically the vans are alarmed and should they come under attack, they hit an alarm that is audible saying "please call the police" or similar. 

Often, however, as with all alarms, they can be faulty and will go off. If the van continued on its way, that would be the case.

The sign on the back will have said: POLICE - Follow this van. That's part of a national campaign that has police following certain vans. If officers see Cash in Transit vans, they are encouraged to follow the van for a short distance to prevent any attacks against the van. 

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