VIGILANT members of the public helped foil a potential robbery on a cash van in Wirral.

They spotted a gang of would-be robbers preparing to strike and called the police.

Officers rounded up five men who were last night being questioned on suspicion of going equipped to rob.

The alarm was raised after eagle-eyed bystanders saw some of the gang sitting in a car zipping up their jackets and pulling up their hoods – even though it was blazing sunshine outside.

At least two members of the gang then got out the car and ran towards a security guard next to the cash van.

It is thought the van was making a midday stop at the NatWest bank on New Chester Road, in Eastham.

But when the gang members saw a police car approaching, they fled.

One of them was arrested nearby.

Another dived into Eastham Library and One Stop Shop on nearby Mill Park Drive.

A bystander who had seen him run inside helped officers identify him.

Police said a 19-year-old man from Walton and a 23-year-old from Dovecot were arrested at the scene. A 37-year-old and a 17-year-old, both from Bebington, and a 44-year-old from Eastham were arrested at a house nearby.

It is understood officers seized items from the car that suggested they were planning to rob the van. Freelance photographer Rob Milne, 45, witnessed the police descend on the library.