Raiders steal £40m in Britain’s biggest cash heist

UP to £40 million was stolen from a security depot yesterday in the biggest cash heist in British history.

It easily surpasses the £26.5m stolen from Belfast’s Northern Bank in December 2004, a robbery widely blamed on the IRA. Four men, including 24-year-old bank employee Chris Ward, have so far been charged in connection with the Belfast robbery.

The Bank of England said at least £25m (€38.79m) was stolen but sources said the true total could be £40m (€58.55m), making it the biggest heist in British history.

The Governor of the Bank of England called for a review of security arrangements for the storage of bank notes following the raid on the Securitas cash depot in Tonbridge, Kent.

The raid happened at about 2.15am yesterday when 15 members of staff were threatened and tied up.

The gang posed as police and abducted the depot manager, his wife and son, and threatened him at gunpoint to cooperate, Kent police said. A police spokesman said the heist was “clearly planned in detail over time”.