DETECTIVES have charged two men with a number of offences over the armed hijacking of a delivery van in west Belfast.

The hijacking took place in the Ladybrook Park area of the city on Saturday morning.

The men, aged 31 and 19, face charges including hijacking, making threats to kill and aggravated vehicle taking.

They are due to appear at Belfast Magistrates’ Court tomorrow, Monday, December 21.

Police say the van driver was approached by a number of men while parked in Ladybrook Park around 6.35 am on Saturday morning.

The driver was threatened with a knife and forced to hand over the keys.

The men then drove off in the van.

Police later spotted the vehicle in Mount Alverno and pursued it.

Two men, aged 31 and 19, were subsequently arrested in Glenside Road. The van was seized for forensic examination.