Three men arrested by student officers

Three men, aged between 25 and 30, were arrested by student police officers in Pretoria West today following a chase through the city streets, Gauteng police said. Captain Tessa Jansen said the seven students were doing a 2.5km jog in Vouter Street at noon for fitness training when they heard screams.

The students saw a woman being robbed of her handbag at gunpoint by four men. The men then jumped into a car and fled. The students shouted at their field training officer and told him what had happened. The students climbed into a police vehicle and chased after the men.

On Zeiller Street the four robbers collided with a bakkie but kept on driving. In Servaas Street the officers fired a warning shot and the robbers lost control and crashed their car. They then ran off, with the officer and students on their heels. Four were arrested, and the fifth escaped.

Inside the car police recovered a handbag containing cash and personal items. The woman had not identified her handbag by 7pm tonight and police could not confirm whether it was hers. Police also seized two firearms and ammunition.

The men would appear before the Pretoria Magistrate's Court on Friday on charges of armed robbery, reckless driving, driving away from an accident scene, possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition and possession of suspected stolen goods, said Jansen. - Sapa