TEENAGE thieves targeting vans parked on a council estate forced open the doors of one - and were confronted by four SAS men on a stakeout. Two of the Who Dares Wins heroes stayed put while the other two chased the panic-stricken tearaways and gave them "a bit of a slap".
The SAS surveillanced team was on a night-time counter-terrorism training exercise in Manchester.
A source said: "The lads each had a machine gun and a side pistol with live ammunition to make it realistic. They saw these scrotes coming for some time.
"They were trying their luck on every van in the estate, looking for tools they could pinch.
"One of the team was resting, one on standby, one log-keeping and monitoring the radio, and the fourth was watching the practice target through the scope of a sniper rifle.
"They didn't want to move for fear of ruining the exercise and hoped the gang would pass them by.
"The lads decided they would teach them a lesson if they did get into their van, which is exactly what happened.
"To this day, those idiots probably still don't have any idea who they were messing with - but it hopefully made them think twice about doing that to anyone else again."
With the team's cover blown, the exercise was cancelled. But no official report was made to police to prevent members having to give court evidence.
The incident was confirmed by senior defence forces. But The Sun has been asked not to reveal specific details.
