Warner’s Budgens in Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire, was left with a 10ft hole in the side of the store following an ATM robbery involving a telescopic loader.

The incident took place in the early hours of 17 November with the store’s CCTV footage showing the lights of the loader before it was used to remove the ATM from the wall, causing £10,000-worth of damage.

The digger was left abandoned at the site with the perpetrators setting it on fire.

Nobody was hurt in the incident and trading wasn’t affected as the damage took place at the customer toilets and staff canteen. The theft comes just two weeks after another ATM theft in nearby Malvern in which a digger left a 10ft hole in a Marks & Spencer store.

Store owner Guy Warner said the incident did not hurt trade.

“It didn’t damage the inside of the store so we didn’t have to close and while the ATM hasn’t been replaced yet, we are able to offer cash withdrawals through the post office so the community can access their money,” he told C-Store. “We’re hoping to get a new machine installed in time for Christmas.”

He added the incident could have been a lot worse. “The robbery took place on Sunday before the machine was refilled so they wouldn’t have got much,” said Guy. “It’s obviously not something you want to happen but it would have been a much graver situation.”

Gloucestershire Police are investigating the incident and are appealing for anyone with information to come forward.

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