An Italian man has been rescued from a collapsed tunnel near the Vatican - and police suspect he could have been burrowing his way into a bank.

He is now recovering in hospital after firefighters spent eight hours digging him out from under a road.

But he may now need to dig himself out of further trouble, as police have arrested him and a second man for damage to public property.

Officers believe he may have been part of a gang trying to break into a bank.

Two other men were arrested for "resisting a public official" after trying to escape from the site, Rai News reports.

Three of the four men managed to escape before the tunnel collapsed; leaving the final man trapped six metres below.

"We are still investigating, we do not exclude that they are thieves, it is one of the theories," a police spokesman told the AFP news agency.

The tunnel, which began in an empty, newly-rented shop, was in an area close to two banks.

Local media believe the motive to be clear, noting that the tunnel was found near a bank shortly before the 15 August long weekend, when much of the city empties.

"The hole gang," read the headline in the Corriere della Sera daily.

Michele, a resident who lives in the same building, said residents had no idea what was going on, adding that "We all thought that the people there were renovating the place." (BBC)

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