A POLICEWOMAN was fortunate not to be killed or seriously wounded when she was gunned down during an armed robbery at a pub, a jury was told yesterday.

The early morning raid at the Hospital Inn, in Bamber Bridge, Lancashire, involved brutality towards the staff and culminated in the attempted murder of dog handler PC Katie Johnson as the raiders escaped.

Two balaclava-clad men entered the premises and threatened to shoot two female cleaners and the couple who ran the pub, Preston Crown Court heard.

Landlord Anthony Gornall managed to call 999 seconds before he was attacked by the raiders.

The robbers tied all four up and left them face down in the bathroom of the pub’s living quarters as they made off with more than £12,000 in cash.

Anthony Cross, QC, prosecuting, said PC Johnson was among a number of officers who arrived at the scene of the raid on New Year’s Eve in 2007 and confronted one of the robbers, Wayne McDonald, as he stepped out of the Hospital Inn.

Mr Cross said: “He shouted something, simultaneously producing a sawn-off shotgun.

“Immediately, he raised it to shoulder height, pointed it at her and shot her.”

McDonald, 47, denies all charges.

The case continues.