Robbers use heavy machinery to steal cash ATM from service station at Richhill Co Armagh

Newry & Armagh DUP MLA William Irwin slammed those behind a second ATM theft at the Fruitfield Service Station and shopping complex.

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The incident occurred at 4.30am on Wednesday morning and involved the theft of a digger from a construction site close by.

The site was previously targeted in May 2020 resulting in damage to housing and the theft of a significant amount of cash.

Mr Irwin said: “This is a quite shocking and ridiculous crime where a digger has been stolen from a site close by, driven through fences and fields, across a main busy road and then through the Fruitfield fences, eventually to the cash machine.

“Obviously with the use of such a large machine they have made short work of the small building and the cash machine has been loaded and the criminals fled.

“This occurred at 4.30am this morning according to the PSNI and I would appeal to anyone who may have witnessed anything suspicious to contact the PSNI immediately and assist with their inquiries.

"This is a well-used resource and will certainly inconvenience a great many people who rely on the machine for their cash. There will also be a cost to the service station in rebuilding this facility and it illustrates the impact of such criminality. Hopefully those behind this criminality can be apprehended and brought before the courts,” said the MLA.

Detective Inspector Handley said: “A report was received shortly after 4.45am on Tuesday morning, 20th December of suspicious activity in the area.

“On the arrival of officers, a digger was located on fire and a built in cash machine had been stolen from the premises, causing substantial damage to the building.

“Our colleagues from the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service attended and extinguished the fire. We believe the digger was stolen from a site a short distance away,” said the Detective Inspector.

“Two men were observed wearing dark clothing as they placed the ATM into a trailer and then set fire to the digger before leaving in a white van towards the Portadown Road,” said Detective Inspector Handley.

"We have since recovered the van, trailer and ATM on the Moy Road and a full investigation is now underway to determine the circumstances surrounding this theft.

“I am appealing to anyone who was in the area between 4.30am and 4.45am and saw what happened, or who has information which could assist our investigation to call us,” said Detective Inspector Handley.

“In particular, I am appealing to anyone who saw a white van towing a trailer in the Portadown Road and Moy Road areas to get in touch with detectives by calling 101, quoting reference 183 of 20/12/22.”

Alternatively, information can also be provided by calling the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

You can also submit a report online using our non-emergency reporting form via www.psni.police.uk/makeareport/