Link in Tyrone ram-raids examined

There was a similar incident in nearby Carrickmore earlier this month

Police have said they are investigating if two ram-raids on cash machines in County Tyrone in a fortnight are linked.

In the latest incident a bulldozer was driven into a Spar shop beside Kelly's Inn in Garvaghy, outside Ballygawley, at about 0230 BST on Wednesday.

A PSNI spokeswoman said neither the cash machine nor any money was taken.

Last week a digger was used to demolish a wall in nearby Carrickmore in an attempt to steal an ATM machine.

It emerged that a cash machine which police thought had been stolen in this incident was actually buried under the rubble left by those responsible.

Inspector Clive Ballantine at Omagh police station said the raids were direct attacks on the local community.

"The methods used by the gang were very similar. In both instances they were unsuccessful, but that was not for the want of trying," he said.

"A point that should not be overlooked is that these were not only attacks on the commercial life of this area, they were attacks on the local community.

"In Carrickmore the post office was out of action for some time, causing a great deal of inconvenience to locals, and this morning's raid also hit at a facility that is of importance to local people."

The owners of the Spar shop said they were "disappointed" at the attack.

In a statement, they said it caused a lot of disruption to the business which "has obviously had a knock-on effect on the local community".

"As a family-run business, we are keen to work with local police to get the situation sorted out," they said.