The great train robbery lives on – in films, series... and German punk

Legendary mail train robber Ronald Biggs laughing while holding a flower next to his face in front of his house in Santa Tereza, Brazil. Photo: dpa/picture alliance

A million Pound theft, fingerprints lifted from a Monopoly board and an escape to Copacabana: Sacks of cash stolen from a British postal train became the legendary Great Train Robbery, capturing the country’s imagination.

The story, of a spectacular heist, but also of betrayal and opaque connections between the police and the underworld became the stuff of films, songs and radio plays and lives on, though it was committed 60 years ago.