THOUSANDS of notes the Northern Bank initially reported as stolen in the pre-Christmas Belfast bank heist were not swiped in the raid, it has emerged.

Northern Ireland’s big four banks were tonight accused of relying on customer apathy to get away with continuing to offer poor deals.

The Northern Bank rejected claims today that substantially more than £26.5m (€37.8m) was stolen from its Belfast HQ.

The Northern Bank is to replace its entire current series of notes in a bid to thwart the gang which cleared its headquarters of £26.5m (€37.7m), it was announced today.

The Northern Bank in Belfast, from which £26.5m (€37.7m) was stolen before Christmas, is to withdraw all of its banknotes from circulation and reissue them in a different colour, chief constable Hugh Orde has said.