The first images from the audacious Hatton Garden jewel heist in London have been released by British detectives.

The photographs show the chaos officers found on arrival at the scene of the raid on the safety deposit vault earlier this month.

They include a picture of the hole the thieves drilled through the concrete wall of the vault using a heavy duty drill - a Hilti DD350. It measured 50cm deep, 25cm high, and 45cm wide.

The vault was covered in dust and debris and the floor was strewn with discarded safety deposit boxes and power tools, including an angle grinder, concrete drills and crowbars.

Police have also released an illustration showing how they believe the gang entered the building and got into the vault on two separate occasions between April 2nd at about 9:20pm and April 3rd at about 8:05am and again between April 4th at approximately 10:17pm and April 5th at about 6:30pm.

There was no sign of forced entry to the building, in which a number of businesses are based and share a communal entrance.

The thieves disabled the communal lift on the second floor and then used the lift shaft to climb down into the basement where the safety deposit business was based.

They forced open shutter doors into the basement and bored holes through the vault wall.

Investigators have recorded, packaged and recovered around 400 exhibits, including items for DNA profiling, fingerprints and other evidence.

Digital forensic specialists have recovered thousands of hours of CCTV footage and analysis of the material is ongoing, while specialist forensic photographers have mapped out and recorded the crime scene.

This is what police found inside the vault | Image: Metropolitan Police

No arrests have yet been made in connection with the raid.

Flying Squad chief Detective Superintendent Craig Turner said the forensic examination of the scene had now been completed.

He said: "The hours of forensic work and inquiries have been vital in order to ensure we are able to exploit all investigative opportunities to their fullest extent and assist us in identifying those individuals responsible."

"We appreciate that this situation has been frustrating for those affected by this crime and thank those individuals for their ongoing patience and support."

"Those safety deposit boxes not opened by the thieves during the burglary have been left secured as they were found throughout the examination."

Hatton Garden Safe Deposit Ltd are in the process of making contact with owners to arrange collection, he said.

Det Supt Turner added: "Of the 72 boxes opened during the burglary, we have only been unable to make contact with six people who we believe have been a victim of crime. We continue to make efforts to trace them."

An investigation is continuing into the failure of police to respond to a burglar alarm at the safe deposit company shortly after midnight on Good Friday.

Scotland Yard claims it is "too early to say" if the handling of the call would have had an impact on the case.