Digger used in latest ATM robbery

There have been a spate of "hole in the wall" thefts involving diggers

Thieves have used a digger to steal a cash machine from the forecourt of a filling station in Dungannon.

The theft took place at the premises on the Ballygawley Road at 0245 GMT on Wednesday.

Police said they believed the robbers escaped in a van towing a trailer and have appealed for witnesses.

There have been a spate of robberies in recent weeks in which gangs have used diggers to demolish walls and steal cash machines.

Last month, there were three similar incidents in the space of just four days.

On 18 October six hooded men stole an ATM, containing a substantial amount of money, from a filling station at Upper Dromore Road in Warrenpoint.

A digger was also used during a robbery in Warrenpoint on 18 October

They used a digger, which was parked nearby, to demolish the wall surrounding the machine.

Police believe the ATM was then loaded onto a white pick-up truck and driven away.

Attempted thefts

A similar attempt was made in Moy, County Tyrone, two days later.

It involved a gang of five or six men at a shop at Charlemont Street.

The cash machine was slightly damaged, but the thieves left empty-handed.

Detectives believe the gang stole the digger from road works and also used a flatbed lorry.

The digger was abandoned at the scene and the lorry was found at Granville.

The next day, Wednesday 21 October, thieves used a digger to try to steal a cash machine from outside a shop in Ardglass, County Down.

The ATM had been removed from the wall but was left at the scene.

The digger used in the attempted theft had been stolen from a nearby construction site.

When police arrived on the scene its engine was still running but the three thieves had fled.

At the time the PSNI said they were not linking the three incidents, but said their investigations were at an early stage.