THE security depot manager and his wife kidnapped during the £53 million Securitas robbery earlier this year have severed links with the town where they lived.

Colin Dixon's detached home in Herne Bay, from where his wife Lynn was snatched, has been sold.

It has been reported that the family have been given new identities and are being guarded under the witness protection programme. Kent Police chiefs declined to comment on this.

The heist was the biggest-ever cash robbery in the UK. The drama began on the evening of February 21 when Mr Dixon was stopped on the A249 near Sittingbourne and taken to the Securitas depot.

Less than two hours later Mrs Dixon was abducted by men posing as police officers who pretended Mr Dixon had been hurt in an accident.

Later that night, a truck left the depot at Tonbridge with the £53 million.