Thieves used stolen digger to snatch £88,000 in bank machine ram raid

The yellow digger was used to pull the ATM from the wall of the Barclays Bank in Henfield High Street, West Sussex, just before 2am on Sunday, police said.

The machine was loaded onto a black Nissan Navara 4×4 pick-up truck which then sped from the scene.

The JCB, stolen from the nearby village of Edburton about an hour beforehand, was left stranded in the middle of the street.

The offenders stopped in a lane for around 20 minutes before the raid to remove the bucket from the digger, a Sussex Police spokesman said.

The bank machine, which had contained more than £88,000 in cash and the truck, were both found burned out later about 24 miles away in Dunsfold.

Just before 4am the group was confronted by a member of the public whose vehicle was rammed by a grey Audi A6 estate car as it left the scene.

Police believe at least three people are thought to be involved and one may have fled the scene on foot.

A 25-year-old man from Henfield was arrested on suspicion of burglary and has been released under investigation.

Detective Sergeant Kieran McDonald appealed for anyone with information to call 101 quoting 157 of 15/04, adding: “We are interested in speaking to anyone who witnessed the event or who saw any activity at the stated locations and times.

“We would also appreciate it if people could review any dashcams or CCTV which were recording at or near the locations described, and if they find any significant material to contact us.

“We are particularly interested to hear about any vehicles that appeared to be in convoy with the Navara.”