People living near the Hatton Garden vault where thieves struck over the Easter weekend said they heard drilling noises over the holiday period.
A resident in London’s jewellery quarter also suggested there was an electricity problem in the area the week before the raid in which millions of pounds worth of jewellery, valuables and cash were taken.
The Metropolitan police are examining CCTV footage, including that first published by the Mirror on Friday night. According to the paper, its footage showed suspects among a gang of at least six men arriving and leaving the Hatton Garden Safe Deposit Ltd building during the weekend of the burglary when millions of pounds worth of jewellery, valuables and cash were stolen.
Scotland Yard said its officers were aware of the footage before it was published and were examining it and other images.
On Saturday, police released pictures of three suspects and a van used by them. The men spent Thursday night in the building before leaving on the Friday and returning over Saturday night.
Scotland Yard has also admitted that police did not respond to an intruder alarm on Good Friday. Officers are investigating why the call was given a grade that meant no response was considered necessary.
The Met said it had not established any links between the robbery and a fire in nearby Holborn days earlier, which caused power cuts, telephone faults and road closures.
Farhana Begum, a 19-year-old student who lives nearby, said: “My mum actually heard drilling on the Friday night, it was probably about 9pm or 9.30pm.
“But there had been roadworks, or construction work, going on in the street for the last couple of weeks so she thought they may have been working late,” she said.
The weekend before the raid, on the Friday or Saturday, and before the Holborn fire, there had been an electricity cut, she said. “It was just a bit peculiar.”
John Han, 26, another local resident, said that over the Easter weekend “we heard some type of loud noise which woke us up. It was late on the Friday or Saturday, I can’t remember which. I am not sure what it was, but I thought they were just doing road works in the street again,” he said.
“But I did think to myself, why would somebody be doing roadworks at that time.”
Another woman living nearby who did not want to be named said: “My husband said he heard a loud bang late on Friday night, but he wasn’t sure what it was. We have no idea if it was connected or not.”
Police were finally alerted to the burglary on Tuesday morning. They say there was no sign of forced entry for the “highly audacious” heist.
Seventy-two security boxes were opened out of the 999 in the vault. Of them, seven were empty and 11 were due to be drilled out because of non-payment of fees, according to Scotland Yard. Officers have contacted 42 holders of boxes which were opened.
