FIVE men, alleged to be members of a gang which raided cash machines across the North of England, have appeared in court.

The five, all from South Durham, were arrested in a series of police raids on Wednesday morning and appeared yesterday before North Durham magistrates, sitting at Peterlee.

The raids were carried out by more than 300 police officers investigating a string of at least seven raids across County Durham, Cumbria, North Yorkshire and southern Scotland, in which forklift trucks were used to rip cash machines from the wall.

Brian Thexton, 30, Joseph Thexton, 41, and Michael Smith, 26, all of Park Road, Witton Park, Bishop Auckland, along with 28-year-old Carl Thexton, of Esperley Lane, Cockfield, and 22-year-old Carl Fitzgerald, of The Crescent, High Etherley, were all charged with conspiracy to steal between November 2004 and last January.

During a six-hour hearing, David Wilkinson, prosecuting, outlined the case against the five and told the court that police were looking for three further suspects in connection with the alleged conspiracy.

No pleas were entered and all five were remanded in custody before an appearance at Durham Crown Court on December 20.

Six other people arrested during this week's raids have been released on police bail.

One man aged 30, from the Bishop Auckland area, has been bailed pending further inquiries along with four women, two in their late 20s, from the Witton Park area, a 23-year-old from the Bishop Auckland area and a 68-year-old from Durham City.

A 19-year-old man arrested on suspicion of assault was released pending further inquiries