Massive hole dug into bank vault over Christmas and £30,000,000 in gold taken

Police suspect the bankrobbers escaped out of the giant hole they drilled (Picture: Police Gelsenkirchen/AFP)

One of the biggest bank heists in German history took place over Christmas – and no one noticed for days.

In a raid that the police compared to Ocean’s Eleven, thieves drilled into the vault of the Sparkasse bank in Buer, a suburb of Gelsenkirchen, last week.

They gained entry through a car park before prying open several doors and using a 42cm thick drill to obliterate the vault’s 18-inch concrete wall.