Dramatic footage shows officers chasing gun-wielding man in Hailsham after police raid

Dramatic footage shows police chasing a gun-wielding man after a raid on a gun factory in Hailsham last year.
Footage released by the National Crime Agency shows armed officers chasing Kyle Wood (inset) before he is Tasered. Pictures and video: NCAFootage released by the National Crime Agency shows armed officers chasing Kyle Wood (inset) before he is Tasered. Pictures and video: NCA
Footage released by the National Crime Agency shows armed officers chasing Kyle Wood (inset) before he is Tasered. Pictures and video: NCA

Convicted gun-supplier Kyle Wood is seen holding a handgun as he is chased by armed officers last August.

Wood, 29, of Gratwicke Drive in Wick, Littlehampton, pleaded guilty to conspiring to sell or supply firearms on the second day of his trial at Kingston Crown Court last week.

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The dramatic arrest followed a raid on an illegal gun factory in The Diplocks, Hailsham, where officers found handguns being made on an 'industrial scale'.

Footage released by the National Crime Agency shows armed officers chasing Kyle Wood (inset) before he is Tasered. Pictures and video: NCAFootage released by the National Crime Agency shows armed officers chasing Kyle Wood (inset) before he is Tasered. Pictures and video: NCA
Footage released by the National Crime Agency shows armed officers chasing Kyle Wood (inset) before he is Tasered. Pictures and video: NCA

These illicit handguns - copies of a 1922 pistol - found their way into the criminal underworld and were used in at least two attempted murders in London, the trial heard.

Wood is due to be sentenced today alongside co-defendant Greg Akehurst.

Shocking CCTV shows Kyle Wood's arrest by armed police

In the video, shown on the first day of the trial and now released by the National Crime Agency (NCA), Kyle Wood is seen running away from officers while holding a handgun.

One of the guns made at the illegal Hailsham factoryOne of the guns made at the illegal Hailsham factory
One of the guns made at the illegal Hailsham factory
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According to the NCA, the handgun is a copy of a Browning 1922 self-loading pistol - one of the untraceable weapons made at the factory.

The CCTV shows officers in hot pursuit of Wood, catching up to him just as is leaving the frame.

The trial heard how Wood was Tasered just afterwards and found with a gun and ammunition.

Wood pleaded guilty to possession of the gun and 24 rounds of ammunition at an earlier hearing, Kingston Crown Court heard.

Pistols used in two attempted murders

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Wood was arrested along with ‘manufacturer’ Mark Kinman and Greg Akehurst when officers from the National Crime Agency (NCA) raided the industrial unit on August 18, last year.

Prosecutor Matthew Farmer said at the trial: “They discovered the existence of a factory that was manufacturing self-loading pistols which were to be sold or transferred into the hands of the criminal underworld.

“An unknown number had already made their way into the hands of criminals and they were seized by police in and around London along with ammunition.

“On two occasions these pistols were used in attempted murder where people were shot.”

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Indeed on one occasion one of the bullets manufactured in Hailsham was found lodged in somebody’s chest.

The Hailsham pistols have been linked to eight crime scenes in and around London from which six have been recovered.

Greg Akehurst, previously listed as of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to possession of a loaded firearm and ammunition which were found upon him when he was arrested on August 18, the court heard.

He also admitted conspiracy to sell or supply the pistols and possession of a firearm with intent to cause a person to believe that unlawful violence would be used against them