Masked thieves ram-raid shop and flee with ATM - Eyewitness tells of drama - UPDATED - New photos

The offence happened at the shop in George Street in Pocklington in the early hours of today.

A Humberside Police spokesperson said a member of the public rang them at 1.45am, reporting that a vehicle had been driven into a cash machine.

A spokesman for North Yorkshire Police said the force had also assisted with the searches in the early hours of the morning.

Local resident Tracy Aikman saw the drama unfold from her nearby bedroom window.

She said she heard an alarm go off and looked out and saw the telehandler that had been used to ram-raid the front of the shop, and saw men fleeing in a white van and another black or brown van.

"I heard such a bang," she said. "All I saw was the digger going through it. Two men came out. One was in the digger. I think he spotted me in my bedroom window because he said something like "we've been spotted"." 

Mrs Aikman said the men were wearing either black hats or balaclavas and had two vans, one white and the other black or brown with writing on the side.

"They just drove off, " she added.

Rubble is today strewn across the pavement which has been sealed off by police. Huge window panes have been smashed and wiring hangs from the ceiling inside the store.

The police spokesperson said: "It is believed the machine was removed from the wall and placed into the rear of a white jeep or pick-up type truck before being driven away out of Pocklington.

"A second jeep or pick-up type truck in black was also in the area at the time as well as a digger which is said to have been used to ram the side of the shop and access the cash machine.

"Extensive damage has been caused to the front of the shop and the scene has been cordoned off to allow an examination of the crime scene in the daylight."

A spokesperson for the Co-operative said: “I can confirm that a ram raid took place at our George Street store at approximately 2am on Friday 8 January.  The police are investigating and, as with any incident such as this, we would appeal for anyone with any information to come forward.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact 101 referring to log 29 of Friday January 8 or call Crimestoppers on 0800 55 111.

This is the latest in a series of ATM thefts around Yorkshire, with thieves often using stolen diggers, telehandlers or JCBs to break them from the walls of buildings including banks and shops.

The most recent incident happened in Heslington in October, when thieves left a trail of glass and debris outside the Towthorpe Moor Lane post office after stealing a cash machine.

The scene of the ATM theft in October. Picture by Frank Dwyer.

North Yorkshire Police said at the time a burned-out pick-up truck had been found near the scene, and thieves had left in a black Jaguar. The digger used to smash the ATM from the wall had been stolen days earlier from a farm near the Grimston Bar roundabout.

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