Eighth cash machine stolen in crime spree

A cash machine has been ripped from a wall and stolen in Northern Ireland in the latest of a spate of ATM thefts.

The raid in Dungiven, Co Londonderry, is the eighth ATM theft in the region this year. The machine was removed from outside a filling station on the Feeny Road.

In tactics similar to previous attacks, the thieves used a digger stolen from a nearby building site to rip the ATM from the wall.

Police said criminal gangs were behind the raids.

It is understood CCTV footage shows three men wearing balaclavas attacking the shop at 4:15am yesterday.

The raid took around four minutes.

The thieves lowered the cash machine into a Citroen Berlingo van which had had its roof cut off and drove away.