Car hunt in County Durham horse trainer robbery

Howard Johnson was forced to open his safe at gunpoint

Police want to trace the owner of a car seen near the home of a racehorse trainer in the hours before an armed robbery at his County Durham farm.

Howard Johnson and his wife Sue were robbed of £100,000 during the raid at White Lea Farm in Roddymoor on Sunday.

Mr Johnson, 56, saw the car, similar to a Ford Fiesta, parked in White Lea Road, between 2030 BST and 2100 BST.

He trained the horse, Royal Rosa, which ran in Saturday's Grand National but failed to finish.

Disused pub

The vehicle was described as being dark grey or green and possibly an old-style Ford Fiesta or similar-sized hatchback.

It had been reversed into the entrance to a field, near to a disused pub called the Dun Cow. Mr Johnson said he did not see anyone inside the vehicle.

Det Insp Simon Orton said: "Of course it could have been there for an entirely innocent reason, for example the occupants could have parked up and simply gone for a walk, or it could belong to a local resident.

"Whatever the explanation we need the occupants to come forward so that if the car was not involved in the robbery we can eliminate it from our enquiries."

This was a really shocking and violent incident which left the victims in absolute fear for their lives

Det Insp Simon Orton

Two robbers, armed with a large knife and a handgun, escaped with more than £100,000 after forcing Mr Johnson to open his safe at gunpoint.

They also took a number of mobile phones and a set of vehicle keys, which police found on Monday a short distance from White Lea House.

Det Orton added: "This was a really shocking and violent incident which left the victims in absolute fear for their lives.

"Even in the criminal world there exists a code of conduct and for some this could be the sort of incident which has simply gone too far."

Mr Johnson said the cash taken had included winnings from Aintree at the weekend and he had been saving the money to buy his wife a dream cottage.

Mr Johnson, who trains horses for computer millionaire Graham Wylie, is the leading National Hunt trainer in northern England and well-regarded in racing circles.

His most high profile horse was Inglis Drever, which won three World Hurdles at Cheltenham.