THREE men involved in the attempted theft of a cash machine near York have been given community orders.

Jack Parker, 20, of Ryecroft Avenue in Woodthorpe; Ryan Ellerby, 19, of Albert Close in Huntington; and Joshua Watson, 19, of Stone Riggs, Stockton-on-the-Forest, all admitted the attempted theft of an ATM in York Road, Elvington.

Police were called in the early hours of Sunday, May 24, after thieves tried to make off with a freestanding ATM near industrial units and the Rebecca's Kitchen sandwich bar. Officers arrested four men at the scene and tweeted these pictures at the time:

All four were charged with attempted theft of the ATM, and one, 25-year-old Simon McArthur from Roche Avenue off Huntington Road, was also charged with dangerous driving and failing to stop for police.

McArthur, who admitted both offences, was released on bail to be sentenced at a later date once a pre-sentence report had been prepared.

Neither Richard Minion, for Watson and Parker, nor Ellerby's representative, offered any mitigation in the case other than the pre-sentence reports and some character references; none of which were read out in court.

Christopher Dunn, prosecuting, told the court Watson, Parker and Ellerby were all in the back seat of a BMW 5 Series when it was driven by McArthur towards unmarked police cars and officers who had arrived to prevent the ATM being stolen.

All three remained silent during police interviews, he said, and only Ellerby had a previous criminal record, for damaging property.

Recorder Tim Roberts QC said: "Each one of you bears equal responsibility for your part in the offence. It appears to me principal liability of the offence reposes with the oldest of the defendants, Simon McArthur, the owner of the BMW.

"I am able to deal with you in a merciful way. In the case of each one of you, I make you subject to a community order for one year and during the course of that time you must perform unpaid work for 140 hours each."