GCHQ puzzles the nation as NOBODY was able to solve their Christmas challenge

GCHQ left the nation scratching their heads as nobody was able to solve their challenging Christmas puzzle.

The headquarters for the UK's intelligence and communication activities posted their cryptographic Christmas card on their website in December to give people the opportunity to solve the cryptic puzzle in what would turn out to be a multi-staged challenge.

Solving the first stage of the puzzle would reveal a QR code, which would then lead onto the next stage of the challenge and so on.

Of all the people who attempted to solve the puzzle, only 30,000 people had come close but nobody was able to complete the fifth and final stage by the time the deadline had passed.

Other stages of the puzzle included multiple choice questions, number sequences and pictograms without any instructions. The challenges weren't impossible but had been set up by the world's top cryptographers, according to GCHQ.

"There are solutions which are not immediately apparent," said a GCHQ representative 'You don't necessarily know if you have got all the answers or if there is something you have missed."

The deadline was on January 31st and GCHQ will post the solutions to its puzzles on their official website later this month.