A gang caused more than £10,000-worth of damage in a bungled ram raid on an East Sussex c-store.
Although the raiders failed to escape with the cash machine from Sussex Village Stores in Newick, they left mother and daughter retailers Eve and Emily Truman facing extensive damage to the listed building.
Eve has vowed not to install another cash machine in her Premier store and is warning other retailers to think carefully before offering the service.
"The raiders caused a huge amount of damage," she said. "It was a massive shock and there's no way I'm putting in another cash machine. Our insurance would shoot up and it's hard enough to survive as it is.
"We opened again after just two days, but the window - which will cost at least £8,000 to repair - is still boarded up."
The attack on the Trumans' store is the first in the area but there have been other similar incidents across Sussex and the South East.
Sussex Police spokesman Paddy Rea said: "Ram-raiding is something we take very seriously and in the past we have worked with officers in Kent to convict a gang."
Kent Police are looking at similarities between a recent ram raid on Bob's Store in Gravesend and 35 similar incidents across North Kent in the past two years. Elsewhere, in Halifax, West Yorkshire, raiders struck a Costcutter store in Bradford Road, causing more than £1,000-worth of damage and escaping with a large sum.
Although the raiders failed to escape with the cash machine from Sussex Village Stores in Newick, they left mother and daughter retailers Eve and Emily Truman facing extensive damage to the listed building.
Eve has vowed not to install another cash machine in her Premier store and is warning other retailers to think carefully before offering the service.
"The raiders caused a huge amount of damage," she said. "It was a massive shock and there's no way I'm putting in another cash machine. Our insurance would shoot up and it's hard enough to survive as it is.
"We opened again after just two days, but the window - which will cost at least £8,000 to repair - is still boarded up."
The attack on the Trumans' store is the first in the area but there have been other similar incidents across Sussex and the South East.
Sussex Police spokesman Paddy Rea said: "Ram-raiding is something we take very seriously and in the past we have worked with officers in Kent to convict a gang."
Kent Police are looking at similarities between a recent ram raid on Bob's Store in Gravesend and 35 similar incidents across North Kent in the past two years. Elsewhere, in Halifax, West Yorkshire, raiders struck a Costcutter store in Bradford Road, causing more than £1,000-worth of damage and escaping with a large sum.
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