At around 5:15am on Sunday, residents in an apartment block in Münchenbernsdorf awoke to the sound of their building being ripped apart.

“Everything was wobbling and vibrating,” a shaken resident told Thüringer Allgemeine (TA).

Unidentified criminals had stolen a digger from a nearby firm and driven it to the town's new Geraer Bank branch, where they tried to rip the entire cash machine free of the wall, reports MDR Thüringen.

All six of the building's residents got themselves to safety and alerted police, while the town's voluntary fire service was notified at 5:30am.

But despite causing an estimated €50,000 worth of damage to the two-storey building, the thieves left empty-handed.

“No money is missing,” said Hendrik Ziegenbein, head of the bank's executive committee.

The break-in attempt was “absurd,” fire service officer-in-charge Martin Lailach told TA.

No-one was injured in the attempted burglary – but residents were evacuated while structural engineers surveyed the building and confirmed its stability.

Further examinations will take place this week.

“The bank isn't opening on Monday. All appointments are being cancelled,” Ziegenbein told TA.

Police are still on the hunt for the hapless would-be bank robbers.