Flying Squad probe airport raid

Detectives in the UK are investigating a robbery at Heathrow.

A gang of robbers escaped with a substantial amount of money during a raid at Heathrow Airport today in which a security van was held up, Scotland Yard said.

Officers from the Flying Squad, which deals with major robberies in the capital, were at the airport.

Today’s raid bears similarities with the £26m (€42m) Brink’s-Mat heist at Heathrow, which remains Britain’s biggest ever robbery.

A gang seized a haul of gold bullion from the high security Brink’s-Mat bullion warehouse in November 1983.

Six armed robbers posing as security guards raided the high security warehouse, dousing a real security guard with petrol and threatening to set him alight unless he opened the vault.

They escaped with 6,800 ingots weighing three tons as well as an assortment of travellers cheques and diamonds.

The men behind the violent and audacious raid were brought to justice - but much of the gold has never been recovered.