7 December 2007: Bank's Plans Binned

Earlier this week a member of the public discovered top-secret security plans for a bank's vault in a dustbin.

The vault, in the German central bank's Berlin offices, was recently reopened after extensive renovation works, including new security systems. The detailed drawings found in the bin included many of the vault's security arrangements, including the location of people detectors, stairwells, grilled gates and measurements with the depth of the vault's floor. The bin was in a public courtyard in central Berlin.

A Bundesbank spokeswoman said the bank was looking into how the plans could have ended up in a public bin.