Bank robbers were forced to flee without the loot on Friday because the bank manager was late for work and only he had the keys to the building. The incident took place in the small town of Montelabbate where two would-be robbers, one armed with a gun the other with a knife, showed up first thing in morning to clean out the local post office bank.
However, they were the first to arrive and had to wait until several postal employee showed up for work.
To the dismay of the hooded thieves, no one had the keys to open the post office, so they waited until others showed up, holding the employees as hostage. But even those who arrived later did not have any keys of which only the office manager appeared to have a copy.
The situation began to take on the trappings of a farce as the two robbers found themselves locked outside the post office, chatting with a growing number of hostages, apparently about how the security system worked. Meanwhile, the town's main square began filling up with people getting about their daily business.
Afraid of attracting too much attention, the two would-be robbers decided it was best to make a run for it. One of them stole an employee's helmet in order not to go away empty-handed. In their haste to getaway, one of the two bumped into the bank manager who had finally arrived, ready to apologise for being late.
Police were alerted but the two failed bank robbers were nowhere to be found.
