Thieves have used a JCB to steal a cash machine from the Natwest bank in Heslington

Firefighters were called to Towthorpe Moor Lane, off the A64 north-east of York, at 10.30am.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue service said the fire was started deliberately. North Yorkshire Police have not yet been able to say whether the truck is linked to the raid, the latest in a series of such crimes around York and Yorkshire.

The thieves had used a stolen digger to tear the ATM from the wall of the Natwest branch in Heslington, leaving debris and glass in the road.

Police were called at 2.23am on Thursday and arrived within three minutes, but the suspects had fled in a flat-bed truck carrying the ATM, and in a black Jaguar car.

A witness who lives above the bank said his house shook and said he saw hooded men flee in a Jaguar. A manhunt is underway.

A North Yorkshire Police spokesman said a member of the public phoned 999 at 2.33am to report diggers were trying to break into the branch, which is next to the post office.

Offenders stole an ATM early hours this morning in Heslington village. Can you help with any information? pic.twitter.com/fZBjolkQSA

— PC Kirven 1810 (@PC1810NYP) October 15, 2015

The police spokesman said the offenders left in a black Jaguar and a cash machine was taken away on the back of a flat-bed truck. The digger, which was green, had been stolen earlier on Wednesday from a farm near the Grimston Bar roundabout, and was left at the scene.

The spokesman said on Thursday that "a lengthy and proactive search" took place, but neither the car nor the truck had been located and no arrests have yet been made.

Sue Foster, manager of Browns sandwich shop which is the building next to the bank, said: "It was a bit of a shock to see this when I got in this morning."

Amanda Lillie, a resident of Main Street, Heslington, who works at the University of York, said: "I am shocked because this has always seemed a picturesque place to live. It has a village atmosphere and the banks serve the community and also the university."

Ms Foster said the Post Office next to the bank is closed as there has been structural damage to the adjoining wall. 

Police inquiries are ongoing, and police guards remained at the scene throughout Thursday, with two police vehicles and the entire front of the building housing the bank and the Post Office taped off by police.

Construction specialists then looked at the structural integrity of the building. 

Ali Afshar Dodson, who was born in the village and still lives nearby, said: "There's been nothing like this in recent memory. I heard an alarm going off at around midnight I think. You don't expect to wake up and see this."

James Gibson, a University of York student who lives above the bank and was one of a group of people who phoned the police, said:

"We came home from a night out, me and some of the guys and girls who live here. We heard a loud bang, the house sort of shook a bit. We thought it was our mate loudly knocking on the door to come in.

"We looked out the window and saw a massive green sort of digger, and it had smashed through the wall of the post office and bank below us. We realised quite quickly that they were robbing it.

"Then we saw three guys in hooded tops, dressed all in black. They drove off in a Jaguar up Main Street.

"We called the police and said what was happening, they were there in about five minutes. They cordoned off the area and took our details.

"We'd just put on the Hobbit 2, so we were sat down to watch that. We were all a little drunk, and suddenly we thought 'What the hell is that?' So we looked down and were like 'Oh my God, what is happening to our house?'

"It was a massive shock."

A spokesman for Natwest said: “I can confirm there was an incident at the branch this morning. We cannot comment on an ongoing investigation, but we are co-operating with the police on this.”

This is the latest in a string of incidents in which JCBs or similar vehicles have been used to steal ATMs from the walls of buildings in and around York and Yorkshire.

At least ten incidents have been reported to police around the county, with the most recent incident taking place in York in June, when a £15,000 telehandler was stolen from P&T Contracts in Westfield and used to smash down the wall of the Gulf Petrol Station on the A1079 near Dunnington.

The scene at the Gulf garage on the A1079 in Dunnington on June 29.

In May, four men were arrested after attempting to steal a freestanding ATM in York Road, Elvington. They were later charged with the offence, and for failing to stop for police.

The site of the attempted ATM theft in Elvington in May. The damaged ATM is under the blue sheeting.

In January, thieves used a JCB to steal a cash machine from the wall of the CoOp in Haxby.

The scene in Haxby, where an ATM was stolen from the CoOp in January.

Can you help?

Anyone with any information about the incident should call 101, select option 2 to speak to York Serious Crime team quoting reference 12150182517, of call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

Anyone with information about the latest ATM theft is urged to contact North Yorkshire Police on 101, or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111.