Two Nottingham Evening Post reporters have told of their terror as they were held up at gunpoint in a taxi after a night out.

Three men forced the vehicle to stop before one of them - wearing a mask - pulled open the passenger door and pointed a gun into the back of the cab.

But the taxi driver sped off after hearing the gun "pop".

Reporters Alex Claydon and Rebecca Sherdley were inside.

Alex said: "One of them wearing a red bandana around his face pulled out a gun and grabbed the handle of the passenger side door.

"We just started shouting, 'Drive! Drive! He has got a gun'.

"I have never been so terrified.

"We work day to day talking to victims of crime and we know how serious it is.

"To suddenly become a part of that was unimaginably awful. It is important this does not happen to anyone else."

They described hearing the gun "pop" inside the car - and the taxi driver made a getaway to safety.

Police and two armed response teams were dispatched once police were alerted when the reporters got home.

Rebecca, who is the paper's legal affairs correpsondent wrote in the Post: "Many times I have written about someone who has been the victim of gun crime.

"But to suddenly find yourself staring at a gun - whether it is real or not - is terrifying. The situation is completely beyond your control.

"At first, when the trio of men walked in front of our taxi, we wondered if they were just crossing the road.

"The car slowed to a stop and we waited for them to move. They didn't.

"Then the first man, an Asian male, wearing a red scarf across his face, walked calmly to the passenger door and went to open it. Had he mistaken our taxi as vacant?

"My first thought was, that the door would be locked. Taxi drivers usually lock all their doors to stop people dodging the fare. I was surprised when he was able to open the door. I told the driver to keep going.

"As he edged forward, I saw what appeared to be a black handgun through the gap in the front passenger seat. Even then the reality of the situation had not sunk in. If this was a prank, it was not funny. I just wanted to get home.

"Then I heard a popping sound and told the driver to keep going, insisting that the men would move.

"I looked for the lock on my side of the door to check it, but by then we were moving again and I was relieved we were out of the situation.

"The police response to the incident was fantastic. Armed officers searched for the trio within minutes of our call. Sadly, they have not yet been caught."

A police spokeswoman yesterday said officers were hunting the three men and that CCTV images from the area were being studied.

She said there was no evidence of the gun being fired and it remained unclear whether it was real or an imitation.