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Thieves rip out cash machine before explosion

Kevin Reide,in Fenny Compton and
Andrew Dawkins,West Midlands
ATM theft causes "violent explosion"

Thieves used a telehandler to smash into a shop and steal a cash machine, before setting the construction vehicle on fire and causing an explosion.

The ATM was taken from the store on High Street in Fenny Compton, Warwickshire, at about 02:40 GMT.

The suspects set the telehandler alight and made off with the stolen ATM, Warwickshire Police said.

Resident Hilary Birkbeck said the attack "caused a violent explosion and fire".

Hilary Birkbeck A burnt-out telehandler lifting vehicle is in the background, with members of the fire service visible, along with blue and white police tape sealing off the scene. Hilary Birkbeck
The ATM was removed from a shop on High Street in Fenny Compton, police said

"My wife and I live opposite at Saddlers Cottage, which suffered damage. The explosion really frightened us both," Birkbeck added.

He told the BBC it was the second such attack on the machine, and she believed there was a "very real risk of someone being killed".

A village store with mainly black and green signage reading The Co-operative Food. Branding vinyls showing red fruits and wine being poured fill front windows on the right. A door is on the left, next to a gap where there are two people in hi-vis jackets.
The ATM was installed at the Co-op on Fenny Compton High Street

Thieves used a digger to steal a cashpoint at the same store in June 2019.

The robbery happened just before 15:00 BST and the digger was used to remove the shop front.

That followed other raids at Co-op supermarkets in Warwickshire in the spring.

Debbie Williams A vehicle is outside a Co-op store, where rubble is on the ground outside it. The photo has been taken at night. Debbie Williams
A digger was used in an incident at the same store in 2019

On 1͏6͏ ͏O͏c͏t͏o͏b͏e͏r͏ this year, a telehandler was driven into a shop on High Street in Shipston-on-Stour at about 02:00 BST and an ATM machine removed.

The telehandler was set alight on High Street.

The force asked anybody who could help with the investigation into the latest attack, particularly if they had CCTV or doorbell camera footage, to get in touch.

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