Have-a-go hero is Major's friend

The courageous man who was shot at point-blank range as he tried to foil a bank robbery is a friend of former Prime Minister John Major, it has emerged.

Ian Cameron Black, 64, who is godfather to Mr Major's son James, was blasted in the stomach as he tackled the armed robbers when they fled from the scene of the raid.

Mr Cameron Black, who became a close friend of the former Prime Minister when they worked together at Standard Chartered Bank, witnessed the robbery when he was shopping near his home in Southgate.

He grappled with one of the fleeing robbers and had managed to detain him until the man's accomplice returned and shot the retired bank manager in the stomach.

Today friends described how close he had come to death - and said they were not surprised he had tried to intervene. Ron Hills, a fellow member of the Southgate Photographic Society, said: "It is typical of the man that he would tackle the robbers.

"He is a very conscientious man. He could not bear to see anything wrong at all. Ian is quite meticulous about law breaking - he even stops people cycling on the pavement. He is very civic minded."

Mr Hill's wife Daphne said a friend had visited the former Conservative councillor in hospital and discovered the bullet had missed his vital organs by a whisker. "He was lucky. The bullet hit a bone and ricocheted off."

Doctors operated to remove a bullet from Mr Cameron Black's stomach and today he was said to be stable in hospital. The drama began when two masked robbers drove a car through the front window of an HSBC branch in Southgate yesterday morning.

They then ran into the foyer firing shots in the air and terrifying two female bank workers before stealing a moneybox from a cash machine and fleeing.

As they ran down the street Mr Cameron Black confronted one of the men outside a supermarket and stopped him.

But the second raider, who had kept running, then turned around, returned and shot the retired bank manager. The robbers ran off into a block of flats leaving him bleeding in the street. He was able to stumble to a nearby cafe where staff looked after him until an ambulance arrived.

Enfield Southgate Conservative Association constituency agent Andrew Lee said: "It is a bit of a shock when someone you know gets involved in something like this but it's typical of the man. He has got quite clear views of right and wrong.

"He has lived in the area for ages and is well respected. He is involved in a whole range of organisations - the parish church, local photographic society and town twinning."

Association chairwoman Rita Miller said: "I walked past the scene of the robbery and saw the car embedded in the front of the bank but had no idea Ian had been involved.

She added: "Ian is such a pillar of the community - he was a council member for years."

Mr Cameron Black lives alone in a £650,000 four-bedroom house in Southgate.

Neighbours and friends said he is an only child, who has lived in the area for at least 15 years. They said he is involved in a series of local groups, including nearby Christ Church.

Conservative councillor David Schofield said: "I'm absolutely shocked by the shooting, I really am. I find it amazing that he would go to that length to stop what is a serious crime."

Mr Schofield said Mr Cameron Black was best man when Mr Major married wife Norma.

Police have warned the public not to approach the two men who carried out the robbery.

The first raider is described as in his mid-20s to early 30s, just under 6ft with cropped, fair hair. The second man was 5ft 6in to 5ft 8in tall, the same age and believed to be bald. Both were white.

They made their getaway in a silver Ford Focus, registration KL51 NCA, which was later found dumped a mile away. Both cars were stolen.