Digger dumped after ram-raiders steal supermarket cash machine

A digger was abandoned in an Asda car park after it was used to smash a hole in the side of the supermarket in order to steal a cash dispenser.

Kent Police said they received reports that a digger had been driven into the shop in Tunbridge Wells shortly after 3.30am on Thursday and a cash machine taken.

The ram-raid caused a large amount of damage to the outside wall of the supermarket where the ATMs are located.

It “looks like someone has been doing a bit of late-night shopping”, according to a commuter who passed the supermarket on his “eventful” morning commute.

The police had “cordoned off the entire site” and there was “an abandoned digger with a huge hole in the wall where the ATMs were once housed”, he added.

There was also a burglary overnight at a nearby recycling centre and police are treating the two incidents as linked.

Detective Inspector James Derham said: “The cash machine burglary took place in a busy industrial area of the town and we are asking for witnesses who may have seen anyone acting suspiciously or saw a large vehicle leaving the North Farm Estate area around the time of the incident.”

Kent Police ask anyone with information to call 01622 604100 quoting 04-121, or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.