One man is still on the run

Six men were arrested during the police ambush at Heathrow Airport, after a van smashed into warehouse doors - but two suspects fled in a hijacked white van.

The driver later gave himself up - but the other man escaped on foot.

The armed robbers' target was �40m of gold bullion and �30 to �40m in cash, at the Swissport Cargo Warehouse.

The gang threatened staff with at least one firearm, knives, cudgels, hockey sticks and lumps of wood, after reversing at speed through the warehouse shutters on Monday morning, police said.

We have foiled what would have been one of the biggest robberies ever committed in the UK Det Supt Barry Phillips The Sweeney's proud history

They then forced their way into a secure area containing a large quantity of precious metal and bank notes.

But as the gang tried to escape, waiting officers fired special bullets - designed to deflate tyres - into the van's wheels.

The hijacked van was recovered, and those arrested taken to West London police stations for questioning, the Metropolitan Police said.

One officer suffered minor injuries apprehending the gang.

A Swissport spokesman said police had warned senior managers the raid would be attempted, but "for operational reasons this information was not shared with the rest of the workforce".

FOILED HEIST AT HEATHROW 1 1000 BST: Armed gang ram warehouse shutters in a van and threaten staff. They are trying to steal �40m in gold bullion plus cash. 2 Police lying in wait disable the van and arrest six of the gang 3 Two men hijack another van and drive off towards Stanwell 4 1300 BST: Seventh man is arrested

"This has obviously been a very shocking experience for many of our members of staff - some are very upset, and counselling has been arranged for them," the spokesman added.

The gang, said to be "career criminals" with some known to police, are thought to have had inside information about the warehouse.

Detective Superintendent Barry Phillips, of the Flying Squad, said: "They knew where the gold bullion was located inside the premises and went straight for it."

Timeline: Major Heathrow raids

But the area had been under surveillance for weeks.

Swissport's management had been "very co-operative", Det Supt Phillips added.

"We have foiled what would have been one of the biggest robberies ever committed in the UK," he said.

"A lot of planning and preparation went into the attack - but the Flying Squad was one step ahead of the team for some time."

'Organised networks'

The swoop operation, codenamed Cartwright, was part of the larger Operation Grafton, an initiative launched by the Met's Specialist Crime Directorate in partnership with Thames Valley Police, Surrey Police, HM Customs and Excise.

Det Supt Phillips said the initiative had enjoyed "substantial success in dismantling the organised networks that have been operating in and around the airport" in the past year.

World's biggest robberies Apr 1945: Reichsbank in Berlin, Germany looted. Estimated �2.5bn stolen. Feb 2003: �65m diamond robbery in Antwerp, Belgium Jul 1987: �60m robbery at Knightsbridge safety deposit centre, London 1994: �29m gems raid in Cannes, France Nov 1983: �26m Brinks Mat robbery at Heathrow, London Jan 1976: �22m robbery at British Bank of the Middle East in Beirut, Lebanon Source: Guinness World Records

It was "a classic example of that partnership approach", he added.

Airport operator BAA Heathrow said it had "worked very closely with the police and cargo operators at Heathrow in recent months on improving security around valuable cargo".

Swissport, majority-owned by London-based private equity house Candover Partners Ltd, handles more than three million tonnes of cargo every year.

Its UK customers include British Airways, First Choice, Ryanair, Monarch, Britannia, Thomas Cook Airlines, easyJet, FlyBe, Eastern Airways and Virgin Atlantic.