Thieves take two hostages after German bank raid

Three masked bank robbers have taken two female hostages in Germany and fled across the border to Poland.

The robbers seized the two bank employees in the town of Uelzen after forcing the manager to hand over money.

They threatened one of the women with a gun before driving away with police in pursuit.

However, television reports said they were able to make a refuelling stop at a garage before crossing into Poland around midnight. It is still unclear how they managed to evade capture and cross the border.