BURGLARS broke into the Liskeard agency of the Halifax Building Society on Sunday morning - and wheeled away the safe.

Police were alerted, however, by a member of the public, and later in the day the safe was recovered. It had been cut away from the floor in the Hunt Associates building where the agency is based, after the front door had been battered down.

A trolley from the Alldays store, on The Parade, was discovered abandoned in the Halifax doorway, and it is thought this was used to move the heavy safe which, when recovered, was unopened.

The money and documents, which were inside, were therefore untouched - and returned to the Halifax.

Hole

A police spokesman said a member of the public had noticed a group of men - the initial report saying about five of them - trying to break down the door of the building around 5.50am.

A red car was parked nearby. Officers attending found the four wheel Alldays trolley, used to transport goods, and discovered a gaping hole in the wooden floor where the safe usually is.

Office manager, Frances Page, was alerted and called to the office to confirm that nothing else had been taken. She said that the safe had been attached to the floor, but to improve safety the floor is now being made out of concrete - workmen already ensuring these improvements are being carried out.

She added other break-ins had taken place in the past, but nothing had been taken, and on this occasion the burglars had been unable to open the safe.

Keys

She explained: 'They had had a go at it with chisels and other tools, but couldn't get in - although they had caused so much damage that we couldn't open it with the keys, and it will have to be replaced by a new one.'

Damage was also caused to the front door - and to the answerphone which Frances said was cut, probably because it was thought to be the wire to the security system.

The police spokesman said two men were arrested at 1.15pm after a suspect vehicle was located in Liskeard, and all property was recovered.

A 42-year-old man from Liskeard, and a 29-year-old from the town were later released on police bail, to return to Plymouth police station on April 30.

Enquiries are continuing, and police would like to hear from any witnesses to the incident. The new police line number is 08705 777 444.