RAM raiders used a mechanical digger to crash into a village store and rip a cash machine from the wall.

Police arrived to find the cash machine in the road with the JCB surrounded by debris, at the Co-op, in Middleton-in-Teesdale, County Durham.

The thieves made off with a considerable quantity of cash.

It is believed the JCB had been stolen from nearby and the bucket mechanism was used to scoop the cash machine from the wall.

Rumours that the raiders fled with £20,000 have been denied by police. Detective Sergeant Ian Sturrock, from Bishop Auckland CID, said: "They did steal a quantity of cash, but it was not £20,000."

He added that the alarm was raised at about 4am on Saturday.

"Obviously, we want to hear from anybody who may have seen anybody in the vicinity at that time, or any vehicles in convoy," said Sgt Sturrock.

The first that many villagers knew of the raid was when they woke to find the store cordoned off by police.

One said: "I did not hear a thing. I looked out of the window on the morning and just thought it was storm damage.

"I had no idea what had happened. They have planned this well, because people would just think the noise was coming from the storm."

John Cronin, who lives a few doors away from the store, only looked out of his bedroom window when he heard an alarm going off.

He said: "The wind was horrific up here, so we did not hear anything at all. I only looked out of the window when I heard an alarm and was surprised to see the place surrounded by police.

"Usually, you can hear absolutely everything in this street, even someone coughing as they walk across the road, because it echoes. But the wind and the rain were just so loud."

The Co-op remained closed throughout Saturday, mainly because storms had left the village without electricity. An emergency generator meant it was open for business as usual yesterday but staff declined to comment about the robbery.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the police on (01388) 603566.