Raiders escape with £200k in Belfast bank robbery

About £200,000 (€293,000) was today stolen from a Belfast bank in a robbery similar to the Northern Bank heist.

It is understood a family member of an employee at the Ulster Bank was held hostage during the raid.

Police were alerted to the robbery at around 10am.

At this stage police sources could not say whether there had been any paramilitary involvement.

However the Police Service of Northern Ireland confirmed: “We are investigating the circumstances surrounding the removal of a sum of cash from a bank in Carlisle Circus.”