Thieves use stolen digger to rip cash machine from shop in Northern Ireland

'This is not just a disgraceful attack on a highly respected local business, it is an attack on the local community'

Hegarty's SuperValu store in Fintona, County Tyrone (Google)

Thieves stole a building site digger then used it to rip a cash machine from a nearby shop in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, police have said.

The brazen raiders struck at 3am on Saturday morning in the village of Fintona.

After they’d removed the ATM, they then set the stolen vehicle alight before making off.

In a statement posted on Facebook, the shop, Hegarty's SuperValu, said: “Unfortunately during the early hours of this morning the ATM at our shop was stolen.

"Thankfully no one was hurt but considerable damage was caused. But you know us at Hegarty’s we have been working through the night and we are open for business as usual.”

A spokeswoman for the Police Service of Northern Ireland said: “Detectives believe the digger was stolen from a building site a short distance away and was set alight at the scene immediately after the theft.”

Glen Campbell, a local councillor, told the Belfast News Letter: “The theft of the ATM during the night is not just a disgraceful attack on a highly respected local business, it is also an attack on the local community.

“The criminals responsible for the theft and criminal damage of the ATM, digger and shop front are to be condemned for these despicable acts.”

It is the latest in a spate of similar thefts of cash machines at locations across Northern Ireland this year.

And just last week, a digger was used to steal an ATM across the border in County Monaghan in the Republic of Ireland.