A transport company owner has told how one of his lorries was hijacked at gunpoint and how he tried, in vain, to head off a group of masked and armed thugs as they finally petrol-bombed the vehicle.

Co Armagh man David Hamilton (42), who sustained serious burns in the incident, has also criticised the PSNI for failing to respond to his calls for help.

The incident started at 12.30am yesterday when one of Mr Hamilton’s drivers, Ian Liggett, was delivering papers and magazines in the Kilwilkie area of Lurgan.

“Before Ian realised it, two bullets were fired through the windscreen of the lorry, he was told by a gang of six or seven to clear off and the lorry was hijacked and driven onto the railway lines at Lake Street on the main Portadown-Belfast line,” said Mr Hamilton, who runs H&T Transport of Annaghmore, near Portadown.

His wife Erin (32), who helps run the company and who is eight months pregnant with their sixth child, said: “The lorry — a two-year-old Renault Midlum — has an electronic device so we always know where it is. So David raced to the scene — about 10 miles away — in a BMW and spotted the lorry on the lines.”

David said the lorry wasn’t too badly damaged when he got there.

“It was fire resistant and wasn’t too badly damaged at the time,” David continued.

“So I managed to douse the flames using my hands — and burned my right hand pretty badly in the process.”

But the gang reassembled and threatened David – “by this time there were 20 or 30, some of them masked” — again with a gun.

“But I drove through them about six times to try and frighten them off and called the police on my mobile — but they didn’t come,” he said.

”I went to Lurgan police station, but even though there were 10 or 12 officers there, none of them would go. Lake Street is a notorious spot and I suppose they thought it was a set-up.”

David spent most of yesterday in the Royal Victoria Hospital.

“It seems these young thugs can shoot and intimidate to their heart’s content,” he said.

“And people say things are improving in this country. We’ve lost one of our fleet of 10 vehicles and we employ 14 people. It’s hardly encouraging.”

The lorry was removed from the lines about five hours later and train services were not affected.

The PSNI defended its actions in a statement: “Police in Lurgan can confirm they are investigating a hijacking in the Lake Street area of Lurgan in the early hours of this morning.

“It is alleged that a shot was fired at the vehicle and the driver was ordered from the cab. He was uninjured. The vehicle was removed to the railway lines and set on fire.

“Policing is being delivered across the whole of the Lurgan area. However, the safety of police officers and the public is a priority and that may mean that at times, we need to be cautious in our approach to some incidents.”