Pictures as police and CSI at Lanchester Hand Car Wash shooting

Police and crime scene investigators remain in Lanchester, after a shooting at a car wash on Monday (August 11), at about 7.30pm.

A man in his 50s was injured after reports of shots being fired, with a man in his 20s later arrested on suspicion on attempted murder.

Police and CSI at the hand car wash (Image: NORTHERN ECHO) (Image: NORTHERN ECHO)

Police said a car pulled onto the forecourt and a passenger opened fire at a group of four men who had arrived a few minutes earlier, before making off.

Pictures from the scene on Tuesday (August 12) show uniformed officers and investigators in white suits working within the cordon on the A691, while marked police vehicles block the road in both directions.

Police remain at the scene on the A691 (Image: NORTHERN ECHO) (Image: NORTHERN ECHO) (Image: NORTHERN ECHO) A man in his 50s sustained pellet injuries to his face, chest, and eye, and was treated at the scene but declined hospital treatment.

Police have since arrested a man in his 20s on suspicion of attempted murder, and he remains in custody.

Police stand guard on the cordon at Lanchester Hand Car Wash (Image: NORTHERN ECHO) (Image: NORTHERN ECHO) (Image: NORTHERN ECHO)

One local who did not want to be named and has lived in the village his whole life, told the Echo: “It’s a sleepy little place — you don’t expect something like this. It’s sent shockwaves through the village.”

Another resident, Neil Erwin, 72, added: “I heard what must have been gunshots, but I thought it was a crash or a car backfiring. You hear of things like this in cities, not here.”

(Image: NORTHERN ECHO) (Image: NORTHERN ECHO) (Image: NORTHERN ECHO) Durham Police have urged the public to avoid the area, with the A691 still closed between Consett and Lanchester as investigations continue.

Motorists are advised to use Maiden Law or Howden Bank as alternative routes.

Anyone with information or dashcam footage is asked to contact 101 quoting incident 437 of August 11, or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

(Image: NORTHERN ECHO) (Image: NORTHERN ECHO) (Image: NORTHERN ECHO) (Image: NORTHERN ECHO)