THE owners of BMW, Mercedes and Audi cars are being warned that their vehicles may be stolen by thieves wanting a quick getaway after raiding ATMs.

North Yorkshire Police says organised criminals are targeting such high performance cars - along with JCBs and telehandlers which they want to rip out the cash machines.

A spokesman said that in recent months, there had been a series of ATM thefts across the county and a region-wide investigation was ongoing to identify and arrest the offenders.

“The build-up to these incidents usually involves the theft of a JCB or telehandler heavy plant machinery to forcibly remove the cash machine from the local area, a Transit-type van to transport the ATM away from the scene, and a fast car – often using false number plates - as a get-away vehicle,” he said.

“Businesses operating heavy plant machinery and vans have been engaged by the police to increase awareness, improve security and encourage suspicious behaviour to be reported.

“As a further preventative measure, officers are appealing to local people who own high-powered cars to do everything they can to keep their vehicles safe from organised criminals.

“The preferred makes and models tend to be RS and S Audis, AMG Mercedes and M Series BMWs. However, any performance cars could be vulnerable.”

Detective Chief Inspector Graeme Wright said the force was doing all it could to detect and deter such crime but meanwhile it was urging people with such cars to be extra vigilant and take every possible measure to keep them secure at home, at work or even at service stations.

“It is important to keep keys out of sight, use gates and locks if appropriate and, if another vehicle can be used as a barrier, it all helps to make a theft more difficult,” he said. “Old fashioned crook locks are also a very good tool in preventing vehicle theft for little money.

“We don’t want to scare people, but there are serious criminals on the look-out for these powerful cars and they will take advantage of any complacency when it comes to vehicle and home security.” He said anyone seeing suspicious behaviour in the vicinity of ATMs should phone 101 or 999 if an emergency response was required.

ATMs have been stolen in recent months at locations including Brayton and Bishopthorpe.