Harlow ram-raiders use JCB to steal ATM from newsagent

The raid happened in the early hours of the morning

Thieves used a stolen JCB to smash into an Essex newsagent and steal a cash machine.

Up to eight people are believed to have carried out the ram-raid at Martins newsagent in Prentice Place, Harlow, at about 01:45 BST.

The ATM was removed from an outside wall, causing "substantial damage", and was then loaded on to a van.

Essex Police are investigating whether the raid is linked to another at a Roydon newsagent earlier this month.

The cash machine contained a "five-figure sum", police said.

It is thought the thieves left in the van and a red car, believed to be an Audi. The digger, which was damaged in the raid, was left at the scene.

Debris was left strewn across the pavement outside the shop

"We are especially keen to hear from anyone who saw the JCB, which is not the usual sort of vehicle to be seen on public roads late at night," Det Insp Jim Adams said.

"There was a previous incident involving the theft of a cash machine at a newsagent in Roydon on 16 September in which the machine and its contents were later recovered, and we are looking into whether these two incidents may be linked."