Thieves rip out cash machine before explosion

Thieves used a telehandler to smash into a shop and steal a cash machine, before setting the construction vehicle on fire and causing an explosion.

The ATM was taken from the store on High Street in Fenny Compton, Warwickshire, at about 02:40 GMT.

The suspects set the telehandler alight and made off with the stolen ATM, Warwickshire Police said.

Resident Hilary Birkbeck said the attack in the village "caused a violent explosion and fire".

"My wife and I live opposite at Saddlers Cottage, which suffered damage. The explosion really frightened us both," Birkbeck added.

He told the BBC it was the second such attack on the machine and they believed there was a "very real risk of someone being killed".

"I... saw a light outside through the curtains and so I went and looked.

"Just before I opened the window there was this almighty explosion and I mean it really was a thunderous explosion."

His wife went out of the house "and was hiding up at the top of the garden", he said.

The explosion is believed to have been caused by a gas canister on the lifting machine.

"She was definitely frightened, but I was still half asleep. I was just wandering around trying to find some shoes so I could get out of the house."

The fire melted paint on his garden gate and Birkbeck stated "the explosion has cracked and broken all the windows in the house".

The main road through the village was also damaged, and is expected to need resurfacing.

Manager of the Co-op Debbie Pugh said "it was [like] something out of an American movie" and "to set fire to the equipment that has done this damage, I mean it was just... insane".

"It was just an inferno of flames here. I mean it was very dangerous. It was frightening because there [were] a couple of explosions due to the fuel that was obviously on board this machine."

The manager said it was "soul destroying" and stated people who knew her "know how much the shop and the Co-op mean to me and the community and the people in the community".

"Words can't describe it. It's heart-breaking for me, my staff... We work so hard to provide a service for the community."

Asked if she knew when the store would reopen, she replied: "No, it's just [taking] it day by day now... Hopefully we can be back open now on Friday."

Pugh added she did not want another cashpoint at the site.

Thieves used a digger to steal a cashpoint at the same store in June 2019.

The robbery happened just before 03:00 BST and the digger was used to remove the shop front.

That followed other raids at Co-op supermarkets in Warwickshire in the spring.

On 1͏6͏ ͏O͏c͏t͏o͏b͏e͏r͏ this year, a telehandler was driven into a shop on High Street in Shipston-on-Stour at about 02:00 BST and an ATM machine removed.

The telehandler was set alight on High Street.

The force asked anybody who could help with the investigation into the latest attack, particularly if they had CCTV or doorbell camera footage, to get in touch.

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