A MAN who was shot in the chest after intervening in a robbery has said if he had the time again, he would do exactly the same thing.

Adam Mapleson, 24, said he did not regret the split-second decision he made as armed robbers held up two Loomis security guards at Rayleigh railway station on May 25.

Mr Mapleson, of Rayleigh - who featured on the BBC's Crimewatch programme last night - had tried to protect a woman security guard who was loading the cash machine. But he was shot in the chest with a handgun as one of the robbers grabbed the cash box from the security guard and made a run for it.

Mr Mapleson, an IT support technician, said: "I could see out of the corner of my eye that no one was really doing anything and, in those few seconds that I had to make a call on what to do, I took it upon myself to just go for it and try to help.

"Obviously it didn't really turn out how I would have hoped.

"But I don't really regret stepping in at all.

"If everything played out (again) as it did, I would have done exactly the same thing."

Mr Mapleson said his recollections of the shooting were unclear in parts.

He said: "I don't actually know when he did shoot me. I was quite disorientated. I put my hand to my chest and saw a lot of blood.

"I didn't really feel much pain at all - I think it's just all the adrenalin and the shock."

During the programme Adam also revealed he needed 16 pints of blood after the incident and half of his collarbone has had to be removed.

But he is determined to try to return his life to normality.

He said: "I want to end up going back to work."

The BBC programme showed a reconstruction of the dramatic event, in which police renewed their plea for information on the crime.

The gunmen escaped in a white Ford Escort, opening the cash box en route and setting off a paint device inside.

Mr Mapleson underwent emergency surgery at Southend Hospital after the shooting and is now back at home with his family.

He is recovering well, but has restricted movement in his right arm and shoulder because it is too early to begin physiotherapy.

He has urged anyone who was near Rayleigh station on May 25, or who has any information, to call police on 0800 405040.

Help police catch the robbers

THE detective leading the investigation into the shooting of Adam Mapleson has described it as a "callous and premeditated" crime.

Speaking on the BBC Crimewatch programme, Det Supt Mick Field, of British Transport Police, urged anyone who knows the robbers' identity to come forward.

He is confident someone may have seen the men as they tried to make their escape from the burning white Ford Escort after they opened the cash cassette and triggered a security device containing red dye.

He said: "This was a callous and premeditated crime.

"We know they didn't have any disguise so we have managed to get two very good e-fits and believe they would have been quite distinctive when they ran away from the burning vehicle because of the dye.

"Some of the witnesses have described them as looking like they had a sun tan."

The car was dumped and set alight in Eastcheap, Rayleigh, and the crooks made off in a waiting dark blue or black Mercedes 190 or BMW saloon.

Mr Field also appealed to anyone who had seen the white Ford Escort, registration number M134 TRC, between May 17, when it was seen on CCTV footage crossing into Essex from Dartford, and May 25, when the crime took place.

There is a 25,000 reward for any information leading to the conviction of the two men.

After the appeal, Mr Field said the public had given 25 names of possible suspects. He said one looked particularly promising but added it was early days.

The first suspect is described as:

White man in his late 30s

Walked with a limp

Stocky build

Brown hair, maybe with a pony tail

Wearing a dark jacket, trainers and a bandana around his neck

The second suspect is described as:

White man in his 20s to 30s

Medium build

Short brown hair

Local accent

Wearing blue jeans, white trainers, brown jacket and dark baseball cap.