MORE than £11 million of the £53 million stolen in the robbery at the Securitas depot at Tonbridge has been recovered.

This was revealed by Chief Constable Mike Fuller at a press conference at Kent Police headquarters in Maidstone.

About £9m alone had been recovered from a vehicle repair yard in Welling in south-east London, he said.

Mr Fuller also disclosed that there had been another significant cash seizure in the last 24 hours but he was uanble at this stage to reveal the amount.

The Chief Constable also confirmed that police had:

* Identified and searched 20 places declared as scenes of crime, as well as other premises

* Dealt with more than 2,100 calls from the public

* Made 17 arrests and charged five people with offences

* Taken more than 300 witness statements

* Followed up 1,200 pieces of information that have come in to us

* Seized more than 3,500 exhibits and recovered a number of vehicles believed to have been used

Mr Fuller stressed at the press conference: “When the investigation began it was clear that it would go down in the history of crime as the highest sum of cash ever taken.

“There have been attempts to glamorise this crime but it should not overshadow the seriousness. Many of the people involved were in genuine fear of their lives.”

He expressed his determination to catch those responsible.

Mr Fuller said the Securitas depot manager Colin Dixon, his wife Lynn and the couple's nine-year-old son Craig, were now recovering well from their ordeal on the night of the robbery.

Mr Fuller also announced that he had invited the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) to review progress to date in the Securitas robbery investigation.

This is standard practice, Mr Fuller explained and he stressed: “To ensure we have identified and exploited all reasonable lines of inquiry and that our investigation is professional and thorough, we have invited these officers to review the case to date.

“This is recognised good practice in the police service and we value the opportunity to learn from our colleagues, who bring their considerable experience from the Northern Bank robbery.

“This review allows experienced investigators independent of our inquiry to look at what we have done and what we plan to do and to help us take stock. The review team will be reporting back to me.”

The PSNI team is expected to arrive early this week.