Thieves use stolen farm vehicle to smash Co-op store cash machine
Raiders used a stolen farm vehicle to smash into a the Co-op supermarket in Asfordby, near Melton, in a bungled attempt to raid its cash machine.
After smashing through the front of the building, a mechanical arm on the vehicle was used to try to smash open the cash machine – but the thieves were unable to get to the cash and fled empty-handed.
-
The stolen farm vehicle smashed into the Co-op cash machine in Asfordby, near Melton
-
The stolen farm vehicle smashed into the Co-op cash machine in Asfordby, near Melton
-
The stolen farm vehicle smashed into the Co-op cash machine in Asfordby, near Melton
-
The stolen farm vehicle smashed into the Co-op cash machine in Asfordby, near Melton
The incident happened at the Leicestershire village store in the early hours of yesterday morning.
Police were called by a member of the public who witnessed the raid, and firefighters also attended.
The area around the Bradgate Lane store was cordoned off yesterday and the Co-op remained shut while officers carried out inquiries.
Liz Wilford, who lives opposite the store, said: "It's absolutely shocking. What annoys me is the impact it's going to have on the community and the problems it is going to cause everyone.
"There are so many people who completely rely on the store and the cash machine."
Asfordby villager Will Edgley said: "I was walking down here with my dog at about 7.30am when I saw the blue lights. At first I thought a tractor had come off a lorry but then I realised what had happened. It's unbelievable really."
Another villager, who did not want to be named, said: "Nothing surprises me these days. They've got some bottle to do something like that."
Police are investigating a link between the incident and a similar robbery in Bingham, Nottinghamshire.
In that raid, a tractor was used to remove a cash machine from the wall of a NatWest bank.
The empty machine was later found in Kegworth.
A police spokeswoman said: "It is believed that a red pick-up truck may have been used to drive the suspects away from the scene. The officer investigating has confirmed nothing was taken."
A Midlands Co-operative Society spokeswoman said: "The incident has left the store with considerable damage to the ceiling, kiosk and lighting.
"Fortunately nobody was hurt during this incident."
Councillor Trevor Moncrieff, who represents Asfordby on Melton Borough Council and also lives in the village, said: "Things like this are becoming all-too-frequent. They are clearly well organised because they come equipped with what they need to do the job.
"You can never condone theft or crime and I hope they are caught soon, but crimes of this sort are only going to increase while the country is facing the economic plight it is."
Police are urging anyone with information to call the non-emergency 101 number.
Video: Cash machine recovered at Leicestershire farm after bank ram raid
8 Comments
by Rachel_Leics
Tuesday, February 21 2012, 8:44PM
“oh dear more crime i said there is LOADS of srimes now in Leicester and Leicestershire!!!x”
by LewisH1
Tuesday, February 21 2012, 5:13PM
“sorryunlucky, It does take a while to get the money out of the machine due to the solid steel safe the money is kept in, GPS is currently being considered amongst other things,
How do i know this?
Because i work for them...”
by spalding1944
Tuesday, February 21 2012, 4:42PM
“I thought that the co op was ' good with food' , not money”
by sorryunlucky
Tuesday, February 21 2012, 4:25PM
“@LewisH1
What good would a GPS tracker do? It's like a car, thieves take cars and dump them within half an hour.
It's even less with ATMS, they get the money out and just dump them. All the GPS will do is find would where they're dumped. And that's IF the GPS doesn't break when they ram a tractor into it.
And they're doing more research on these cash machines to make them more secure all the time.”
by LewisH1
Tuesday, February 21 2012, 2:51PM
“Swoop, 'Securicor' does not exist any longer it's G4S, also they dont use smoke (boxes not tins) anymore as people have been killed breathing it in.
However, what they should do is put some sort of GPS tracking device on the ATM machine, thats why they're becoming an easy target...”
by Opinion8ed
Tuesday, February 21 2012, 12:42PM
“@Jani88. Yes, they are called thieves..”
by Jani88
Tuesday, February 21 2012, 11:02AM
“There seems to be a trend with crime here with banks being targeted by small groups. If you look over the archive of crime I have noticed this in Leicester. Is it the same group?”
by Swoop16
Tuesday, February 21 2012, 10:49AM
“Can never understand why they don't have a similar device to Securicor cash tins, where red dye spoils the cash and belches out red smoke. If such a device was installed, this sort of thing would be a thing of the past.”