This news article from the Daily Echo Thieves Pedal Off with Stolen Safe…reminded me of a story from quite a while back, about a safe that didn’t quite get away.

At some time two thieves had broken into the upper floor of the office at a power station and attempted to break into the payroll safe there. Having failed to remember the combination correctly or some other thing, which had got in their way, the thieves decided to steal the safe, not just the payroll.

The safe itself was large, probably a good 200KG in weight.  So the thieves knocked a hole in the double brick upper story office wall with a sledgehammer, and the safe was unceremoniously pushed out and onto the pavement about 15ft below.

It had been raining, but now at night it was only a cold drizzle. The thieves got a trolley and loaded the safe onto it. The safe didn’t sustain much damage, but it took some time to load onto their trolley. Finally catching their breath, the two must have then begun to push the trolley over to the car park, some distance from where the safe had landed.

Next morning when the police were called. The view from the broken office wall out over to the car park showed it was apparent that the thieves had ignored the rain, and taken a shortcut across the now muddy field intervening the concrete apron and their truck. They had made a getaway, but the trolley complete with safe, had it’s wheels solidly bogged deep in the field.

---- Appreciate use of the featured photo by M Styne :  CC License : Flickr