Five world-famous paintings including ones by Picasso and Matisse worth up to £400million were crushed in a rubbish truck after being stolen, it has been claimed.

The masterpieces were all part of record-breaking haul from one of Paris's most prestigious galleries which was described by police as the 'Art Heist of the Century'.

If the claims - made by an underworld figure allegedly involved in the crime - prove true, then it will be one of the biggest catastrophes in the history of art.

In May last year a single 'cat-burglar' broke into the city's Museum of Modern Art, close to the Eiffel Tower, and got away with five pieces after cutting them from their frames.

Sleeping guards and a faulty alarm system failed to stop the hooded man as he made off with Dove with Green Peas by Pablo Picasso (1911), Pastoral by Henri Matisse (1906), Olive Tree near l'Estaque by Georges Braque (1906), Woman with Fan by Amedeo Modigliani (1919) and Still Life with Candlestick by Fernand Leger (1922).

The raid immediately leapt into crime folklore, with specialist police forces and private detective firms around the globe uniting to try and retrieve the paintings.

It took officers from the Serious Crime Brigade more than a year before placing three men - the alleged thief and two accomplices - under official investigation, but all the paintings remain missing.

Two unnamed men were finally arrested five months ago but, as soon as this happened, a third tried to destroy the evidence.