Three ram raids over one weekend

The cash machine was ripped out of the wall of the pub

Three ram raids on consecutive nights over the weekend in Kent have led police to appeal for witnesses.

In the latest, a cash machine was stolen from the Kentish Yeoman pub on the A28 in Bearsted early on Monday.

The thieves used a 4x4 vehicle to ram the pub in Ashford Road. A Land Rover was later found on fire at Detling.

On Saturday, raiders smashed through the front of an Alldays supermarket in Marden, while a gang broke into the Co-op store in Istead Rise on Sunday.

We are dealing with highly organised criminals Det Ch Insp John Biggadike

In each incident the thieves targeted cash machines, although they left empty-handed in Saturday's raid after causing serious damage to the village store.

Police later recovered two stolen vehicles from separate locations in Hunton.

In Sunday's raid, the gang used an excavator with caterpillar tracks to remove the wall-mounted machine.

They then set fire to the cab of the stolen digger, before driving away in two 4x4 vehicles, which were both later found burnt out nearby.

Landlord of the Kentish Yeoman pub, Wayne Archer, said Monday's raid was the second time the pub had been targeted in 11 months.

A mechanical digger was left at the scene of the Gravesend ram raid

He was asleep in his home above the pub, but said he heard the crash of the cash machine as it was ripped out of the wall and dragged through the door.

"They (the ram raiders) are pretty ruthless, and will obviously stop at nothing," he said.

All the ram raids took place at about 0300 BST, but police said they were not linking them at this stage in their inquiries.

Earlier this year, Kent Police set up a task force to investigate the thefts of cash machines in the county, and offered a £10,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of offenders.

Det Ch Insp John Biggadike said on Monday that officers were keen to hear from anyone who may have passed the scene of the ram raids or seen vehicles acting suspiciously in the area.

"We are dealing with highly organised criminals.

"Kent Police takes these thefts very seriously, which is why we have put our considerable resources into identifying those responsible," he said.

There have been 24 ram raids or attempted raids in the county since last December, and 33 arrests for related offences, with one man charged in connection with a raid at Cliffe in May.