RAIDERS who dug out a cash machine from a supermarket wall using a forklift truck escaped with more than £20,000, police said last night.
The vehicle was used to ram the outside wall of the Somerfield supermarket at the back of High Street North, in Langley Moor, on the outskirts of Durham City, shortly before 1am yesterday.
The cash machine was prised free and lifted on to a second vehicle, thought to be a van or flatbed truck.
The machine belongs to a company based in the South-East and was installed four months ago.
It was last filled up with money on Tuesday.
The forklift used in the operation was virtually new and had been stolen overnight from a unit on the Meadowfield Industrial Estate.
At lunchtime yesterday, a red Mazda flatbed truck was found burnt-out in Roddymoor, north of Crook.
The truck was stolen on Thursday night from the Consett area and detectives are conducting inquiries to see if this vehicle was connected with the incident at Somerfield's.
Last night, there was still no sign of the cash machine.
Details of the incident are being compared with similar incidents, not only in County Durham, but in other parts of the North over the past year to see if there is any connection.
Detective Sergeant Tony Dumighan said: "At this stage we cannot say for certain if it is linked to previous attacks on cash dispensers but that is certainly something we are looking at.
"High Street North has many private houses and we are hoping residents may have been awoken by the noise and seen something potentially useful to the investigation."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article