In a scene from a Hollywood film', an armed gang machine-gunned a night clubber before opening fire on police in Croydon, the Old Bailey heard last week.

The gunmen blasted Cyrus Moses after a row broke out in the car park of the Atlantis nightclub on Purley Way, a jury was told last Wednesday (February 13). The court heard they fired at unarmed officers who bravely gave chase.

The gang began five hours of terror on a last year's May Day Bank Holiday which ended in violence outside the Croydon nightclub.

It is alleged that Marcel Salami, 31, Quincey Thwaites, 23, and Junior Reid, 23, were involved in a shooting when a row broke out in a car park traffic jam.

"What happened next was quite astounding," prosecutor Jonathan Turner told the jury. Cyrus Moses got out of his car to remonstrate with the people in front and it seems words and blows were exchanged.

"People saw a number of black men punching and kicking him and at that point a man emerged from a gold Audi and began to fire a small machine gun, firstly into the air and then directly onto Mr Moses."

Miraculously Mr Moses survived the shooting with one bullet wound to the thigh. Police chased the Audi, which the prosecution allege contained all three defendants and possibly two other men.

"It was something more like a scene from a Hollywood film than something you would see in Croydon," Mr Turner added.

Officers saw the passengers leap out of the Audi and jump into a BMW. A volley of shots were then fired from the windows of the second car. The car eventually hit a wall and Reid and Thwaites fled, leaving wounded Salami in the car. He was wearing body armour and a loaded pistol as well as the Uzi were found in the BMW.

All three defendants refused to answer questions when interviewed but in a prepared statement Reid said he was at a central London nightclub at the time of the shooting.

Reid, of Northampton, Salami of Peckham, and Thwaites of no fixed address all deny three charges of possession of firearms with intent to endanger life and a further three charges of possession of firearms with intent to cause fear or violence on May 29 last year.

Salami and Thwaites deny two counts of possession of firearms with intent to endanger life and another two of possession of firearms to cause fear or violence.