LONDON, May 17: Armed police arrested seven men on Monday after foiling an attempted gold heist at Heathrow airport that would have been one of Britain's biggest robberies. The men smashed a van through steel shutters into a warehouse and threatened staff with guns and knives.

Police said the gang's target was 40 million pounds (70.87 million dollars) worth of gold bullion and up to the same amount again in cash. But more than 100 police officials were lying in wait after a tip-off.

"In preventing this attack, we have foiled what would have been one of the biggest robberies ever committed in the UK," said Detective Superintendent Barry Phillips, from Scotland Yard's Flying Squad that headed the operation.

Police fired special rounds, used to deflate tyres, to disable the gang's van. One officer suffered minor injuries. "It is clear that a lot of planning and preparation went into the attack but the flying squad was one step ahead of the team for some time," Phillips added.

Six men were arrested at the warehouse but two escaped by forcing a worker to drive them away in a hijacked van. One of the men has since been arrested and the other is still on the run.

Heathrow airport was the scene of what remains Britain's biggest gold robbery - the 1983 raid on a Brinks Mat warehouse. In that raid, a six-strong masked gang overpowered security guards and escaped with 26 million pounds in gold and diamonds. They were all eventually caught. -Reuters