Terrifying arsenal of 250 guns and a bazooka found in flat of fugitive German burglar, Uwe Giesemann, 69

• Police also found £250,000 in cash and haul of expensive jewellery
• Convicted burglar Uwe Giesemann, 69, has been on the run since November

By Sean O'hare

PUBLISHED: 08:58 EST, 14 February 2013 | UPDATED: 11:49 EST, 14 February 2013

Convicted burglar Uwe Giesemann, 69, had arsenal of 250 guns and a bazooka

Police searching a flooded home stumbled upon a terrifying cache of weapons including 250 handguns and a bazooka.

Officers in Germany visited the empty flat following reports from neighbours that water was leaking through the ceiling into their apartments.

But when they got inside the soaked property they were stunned to find the private arsenal of convicted burglar Uwe Giesemann, 69.

He is now on the run and police are appealing for help in tracking him down.

The terrifying haul prompted the search of another property in Hannover also belonging to the 'unkempt' criminal.

In total they found 250 handguns, a number of machine guns, gun parts, hand grenades, silencers, night vision goggles, a bazooka, and a large quantity of ammunition.

German police made the alarming find in November, but have only just released details as they look to track down the bearded fugitive who is feared to have been an arms dealer operating out of the city for years.

The cache of weapons is worth approximately £500,000 and is the biggest weapons find Hannover police have ever had to deal with.

During the search they also came across £250,000 cash and a lot of expensive watches and jewellery with the total haul thought to be worth around £860,000.

A police spokesperson said: 'This is one of the biggest weapons finds we've ever had.'

Arsenal of guns found by police inside two properties belonging to Uwe Giesemann, a suspected arms dealer

Expensive watches and jewellery found by police inside the property, along with £250,000 cash