On this day - 20 December

On December 20th Northern Bank in Belfast was robbed in one of the largest bank robberies in British history. It was a highly organised crime where the families of two bank officials were held hostage to force compliance from the officials. The officials sent employees home early and then told security they were taking rubbish out for collection. They then loaded cash onto trolleys and wheeled them out for the thieves to collect. The cash was collected in a van and the process was repeated with a second load of money. The officials then locked up and went home where their families were released.

The money stolen was a combination of new currency as Northern Bank was permitted to print new bank notes and previously used currency. The serial numbers of the new currency were announced to help prevent the money being laundered, but the previously used currency was almost impossible to trace.