A policeman on patrol in the Stadera district of Milan became suspicious when he saw a group of men standing near a van outside a park on Friday: as he approached, the men ran away, leaving behind, in the undergrowth, a 500-kilogram metal safe plus instruments which they had been using to try to open it.
Inside the safe were €69,000 [$94,400 or £58,596] and it was later ascertained that the safe had been stolen from a post office in September.
Police are now searching for the incompetent thieves.
