NEIGHBOURS have praised the bravery of Martin Perrett and described the police manhunt drama in their rural village.

Carol Payne, 60, of Buckland Newton was caught up in the action when she rushed out to assist after hearing a car crash.

She said: “We had a really, really bad night.

“It kicked off at about 2.10am when I heard a crash.

“I went running downstairs but before I could get out the door I heard shouting and something driving really, really fast.

“I thought someone had had a few too many but then I heard another crash and saw Mr Perrett with his 4x4.

“Another car was up the bank with steam coming out of the engine so I ran to help when Mr Perrett shouted for me to get back inside because ‘they had guns’.

“We ran back in and switched our lights off quickly and then the police arrived with torches and a helicopter.

“We didn’t get back to bed until 4.30am.”

A woman who keeps her horses nearby, and did not wish to be named, said other neighbours had heard shots being fired.

Peter Miles, 90, said: “I haven’t know anything like this to happen before.”

Alison Koppenaal, senior barmaid at the Gaggle of Geese pub, said she only found out about the drama when the pub’s dog Grace escaped and she went to look for her.

She said: “I woke up at 4am this morning with the helicopter over the house and saw the beam over the fields and all the police cars.

“Then I went to find Grace and walked straight into all the police action.

“I heard that Mr Perrett drove towards the raiders and they shot him, he ran their car off the road and they fled.

“The frightening thing is they were armed and they shot at him while he was driving.

“They could have killed him. He was very brave.”

Judy Hammick, mother of the pub’s owner Mark Hammick, said: “It’s terrifying.

“The number of break-ins around here has gone up although the neighbourhood watch and Farmwatch is very good.

“But to shoot at somebody is just horrible.”

Olivia Simson, 18, of Piddletrenthide, said: “It was really strange to see all the police cars because nothing like this ever normally happens here.

“It’s a bit of a shock and quite scary in a quiet village like this.

“We’re just really glad Mr Perrett wasn’t hurt. He’s quite well known in the village and it would have been really sad if anything had happened.”