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Traditional Prison Break

Polish Prisoners Escape German Jail With Knotted Bedsheets

Two Polish men managed to break out of a prison in southern Germany using a traditional method they may well have picked up from the big screen.

Jumping off 30 feet walls and clambering through rickety shafts are actions usually reserved for Hollywood and prime time TV, but two inmates in Germany have hit the headlines after escaping from their cell with the help of a screwdriver and some knotted-together bed sheets in a prison break fit for the big screen.

The two Poles, imprisoned in the southern German city of Nürnberg on remand, performed the spectacular prison break by climbing through the roof of their cell toilet, crawling into the loft of the building and then using their bed sheets to abseil down the outer walls of the detention center.

"The walls are almost 15 meters high. If the sheets had ripped they would have fallen to their deaths," a prison spokesman told reporters.

The younger of the two men -- in custody because of possible rape charges -- was caught just minutes after the spectacular break, but the older one -- charged with burglary -- is still on the loose.

The prison governor has now ordered security procedures to be tightened.

cox -- with wire reports