Moment masked gang drive their Volkswagen into a Co-op - before driving off with the cash machine
A gang of masked robbers smashed a car into a Co-op store in a dramatic ram-raid before making off with the cash machine.
The brazen criminals drove a dark Volkswagen Touareg straight into the front of the convenience store in Christchurch, Dorset, in the early hours of Saturday morning.
Witnesses reported seeing the group using an array of tools to rip the ATM from the wall and haul it into the back of the vehicle.
A second vehicle, a blue Audi RS3, was also spotted speeding away from the scene shortly after the raid, which took place at around 2:30am.
Police were called and arrived within minutes, cordoning off the area at 2:43am as a full investigation was launched.
A spokesperson from Dorset police confirmed: 'A full investigation has been launched to determine the full circumstances of the incident.'
The Co-op store has since re-opened, but staff and residents have been left shaken by the ordeal.
A spokesperson for the Co-op said: 'There was an incident in the early hours of yesterday morning where there was an attack on the community's ATM.
'We appeal for anyone who may have seen or heard anything to come forward to Police, who are investigating.
'We would like to thank the Police for the speed of their response. The store is now reopen to serve the community.'
No arrests have yet been made, and police are urging anyone with information or dashcam footage from the area to come forward.
It comes after two masked robbers were captured on CCTV as they ripped out a shop till while threatening a shopkeeper with a metal wrench.
The terrified member of staff was standing behind the counter of the shop in Newport, South Wales, when it was raided by the masked suspects in December.
Footage from security cameras shows one robber repeatedly slamming the large metal tool on the shop counter before ripping out the till.
And earlier this month, two masked teenagers who robbed a great-grandmother in her own home before leaving her alone for hours as she lay injured on the floor and crying out for 'mummy', were locked up for two years in a youth detention centre.
Joy Middleditch, 82, died just days after she was discovered seriously injured inside her bungalow in Pakefield, Suffolk, by her family, having been left on the floor for 12 hours after she was burgled and robbed.
She was conscious and breathing, but found to have five broken ribs and bruising before dying in James Paget Hospital, Great Yarmouth on March 27, 2023.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
20 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE 'If you were in a changing room in Harrods, there was a good chance Mohamed Al Fayed was watching': Explosive new book claims store was awash with spy cameras - even in women's staff toilets and locker rooms
Sexual predator Mohamed Al Fayed spied on customers using the changing rooms at Harrods for decades, according to claims made by his former bodyguard. Speaking in an explosive new book, the security man said there was a 'good chance' that shoppers using the facilities at the Knightsbridge store during his reign were being 'watched' by the serial rapist. In the Monster of Harrods due to be released on Thursday, the bodyguard known only as Biggie said the store was awash with cameras which also recorded inside the female staff toilets and locker rooms. 'People don't talk about this - there were cameras right up to the entrance and slightly inside the changing rooms used by Harrods customers, which meant if you were in a Harrods changing room during the Fayed era, there was a good chance that he was watching you,' Biggie revealed. The installation of cameras, as well as bugging telephones, was said to have been ordered by the head of security ex-detective John Macnamara so Al Fayed could keep tabs on and seek out potential victims. 'The guys looked at the screens as if their lives depended on it. But they also realised that many of the questions Macnamara asked were about females who had caught Fayed's eye, so there was also a lot of sniggering as they watched women in changing rooms and toilets,' said Biggie. Biggie, who was described as 6ft 4in and 20st, was employed as one of the very first 'generals' in Al Fayed's security detail after he purchased the iconic store in 1985. Harrods, which was owned by Al Fayed for 25 years before he sold it in 2010, said last night: 'Nothing in our records suggest cameras existed in any staff or customer areas where personal privacy would have been compromised.' Alison Kervin, author of the book who interviewed 60 witnesses, survivors and former employees, claimed that around forty screens transmitted information from every inch of the store 24/7. She said the cameras were 'everywhere' and meant that 'working at Harrods was like living in the Truman Show'. Another member of staff, known as 'the Engineer' because of his role in phone bugging, said there were 'recording devices everywhere' and everything that was transmitted was filed away. 'I'd have to make sure they were working and we were picking up everything was important that we did the recordings and kept everything properly filed,' he is quoted as saying. He said Al Fayed would sometimes demand to see a particular recording or listen in to what was said in a meeting room. The man said that no one was 'off limits' and that he bugged everyone from financial directors and board members to chauffeurs and body guards. Al Fayed, who died without facing justice aged 94 in 2023, was exposed as a prolific sex offender last year and more than 500 victims and witnesses have since come forward. Emma Jones, a human rights lawyer for Leigh Day which represents a number of the victims, said the latest revelations highlighted the need for a public inquiry into how his offending was allowed to continue undeterred for decades. 'The fact that there could be covert surveillance, CCTV or any kind of recording in areas such as toilets and changing rooms beggars' belief and is truly shocking. 'If true this would have serious and far-reaching ramifications in terms of breaching people's right to privacy,' she added. Last week survivors handed a letter to Downing Street calling for an inquiry to examine claims of a cover up and allegations that the serial rapist was enabled by the iconic store and the police. Scotland Yard previously revealed that it is investigating the role of at least five potential enablers who are alleged to have aided Al Fayed. Harrods, which was sold to wealth fund Qatar Holdings, has previously said it is 'appalled' by allegations of sexual abuse by Al Fayed and have been investigating whether any current members of staff were involved. The Monster of Harrods: Al-Fayed and the secret, shameful history of a British institution published by HarperCollins goes sale on Thursday here.
The Independent
29 minutes ago
- The Independent
Al Qaida terrorists tried to poison UK water supply, says ex-security minister
An al Qaida militant cell sought to poison London's water supplies but were thwarted by the security services, a former counter-terrorism minister has revealed. Details of the foiled 2008 extremist plot were given by Lord West of Spithead, who was in office at the time, as the Government was tackled at Westminster over steps to protect the Britain's reservoirs against attack by hostile forces. It follows the publication of comprehensive military plans to safeguard the UK in the face of threats from Vladimir Putin's Russia and China. Sir Keir Starmer said the strategic defence review (SDR), published earlier this week, would create a 'battle-ready, armour-clad' nation. The move comes against the backdrop of ongoing concerns about the vulnerability of critical national infrastructure to attack. Pressed in Parliament over whether there had ever been an attempt or a plan uncovered to contaminate the UK's water supply, environment minister Baroness Hayman of Ullock said: 'My understanding is that there has not been such an incident, but that does not mean that we should be complacent. 'We know that our water and energy infrastructure are both potentially vulnerable to hostile attacks.' But moving to correct his frontbench colleague, Lord West, who served as Home Office minister for security and counter-terrorism from 2007 to 2010, said: 'In 2008 there was an attempt by eight al Qaida operatives to poison north London water supplies. 'I am pleased to say that our agencies worked brilliantly to stop it happening.' The former Navy chief, who sits on Parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee, added: 'As a result, in the Home Office we put in hand a whole series of work on police response times, indicators of where the outflows from reservoirs went and new barriers. 'Where has all that work gone? These things somehow seem to disappear. There should be some reports, and hopefully someone did something about it.' Responding, Lady Hayman said: 'That is extremely interesting and very helpful of my noble friend. I will certainly look into it, because it is an important point.' Earlier, the minister told peers: 'The Government's first duty is to protect our national security and keep our country safe. 'Defra (the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) recognises that the drinking water supply is a potential target for hostile actors. 'It works with water companies and partners across Government to understand and monitor threats to water supply and to consider responses as appropriate to protect the security of our water system.' But Labour peer Lord Harris of Haringey, who is chairman of the National Preparedness Commission, said: 'I wonder whether her department is being a tad complacent in talking simply about monitoring the threat rather than looking at what practical arrangements can be made. 'For example, how do we deal with a drone which is flown over a reservoir and deposits something in there? 'The panic effects of that being known to have happened and not necessarily knowing what the substance is would be enormous.' Lady Hayman said: 'Tackling the diverse range of state threats – not just drones but many other threats – requires a cross-government and cross-society response. 'We need to draw on the skills, the resources and the remits of different departments and operational partners. 'In Defra, we work closely to look at the threats and the appropriate levels of response, specifically drawing on expert advice from the National Protective Security Authority, the National Cyber Security Centre and the Home Office, as well as carrying out threat assessment with policing partners.' Former Metropolitan Police chief Lord Hogan-Howe, who led the UK's largest force from 2011 to 2017, said: 'For about 15 years, I have been worried about the water supply – the large and small reservoirs, the pipes that connect them and, of course, the water treatment plants. 'I worry that there is sometimes confusion between the Home Office, Defra and others about who is looking after security.' The independent crossbencher added: 'It needs to be higher in the priorities than it presently appears.' In reply, the minister said: 'I can assure him that we discuss these matters with the Home Office. 'One thing that we have been trying hard to do in Defra and other departments since we came into government is to work better across Government.'
The Independent
29 minutes ago
- The Independent
Police release video of arrest that led to officer's sacking
Police have released footage of an officer who 'behaved aggressively and used unreasonable force' while arresting a boy, 15, to combat 'misinformation'. Pc Lorne Castle was dismissed after a disciplinary hearing held by Dorset Police following the incident in Bournemouth town centre on January 27 2024. The two-minute clip, released by the force on Tuesday, shows the officer tackling the boy to the ground before taking hold of the teenager's face and throat while repeatedly swearing and shouting at him. The boy can be heard shouting and crying 'what have I done' and 'what did I do' before the officer shouts 'stop screaming like a little b****, do you understand that? Shut up.' The teenager also screams 'my f****** neck, get off me, I don't want you on me', while Pc Castle is on top of him. The officer later shouts 'Stop resisting or I'm gonna smash you, do you understand?' and says the boy is being arrested on suspicion of assault. In a statement, Dorset Police said they had chosen to release the body-worn video because of the 'high level of public interest in the outcome of the misconduct hearing locally and to challenge misinformation.' Pc Castle previously admitted misconduct in relation to breaching the standards of professional behaviour relating to authority, respect and courtesy, conduct and use of force but denied gross misconduct, the force added. However, an independent panel found that the breaches amounted to gross misconduct and Pc Castle was dismissed without notice. The video formed part of the evidence reviewed by the panel during the three-day hearing which concluded on May 29. A knife was found around four-minutes into Pc Castle's interaction with the boy, after he had been put in handcuffs, Dorset Police said. The force added that the officer had been responding to information that the teenager may have been involved in an earlier suspected assault, but at no time was there any suggestion that a knife had been used. No further action was taken against the boy in relation to the reported assaults and he was issued with an out of court disposal for possessing the knife, according to police. Deputy Chief Constable Rachel Farrell said: 'I understand the strength of feeling in this case and it is right to be open and transparent about what the independent panel saw, alongside other evidence and testimony. 'We are sharing body worn video to address concerns about misinformation and to reassure the public that, while tackling crime in Dorset, our officers will continue to be proactive and robust – but by using their powers proportionately and with respect. 'Tackling violence, knife crime and antisocial behaviour are absolutely our priorities. 'At times our officers are required to use force to affect the arrest of suspects, prevent offences and protect the public, their colleagues and themselves. 'I have the utmost respect for the vast majority of officers, who have to use force when making an arrest and do so appropriately and with professionalism, even when they are exposed to risk and violence. 'They do a tough job and when their actions are proportionate, necessary and reasonable they will always be supported.' In a statement Dorset Police Federation criticised Dorset Police's decision to release the footage, saying the force had done so 'without also providing context or balance'. The federation added: 'Our view is that the showing of selective clips of an officer's body worn video is not a useful or responsible way to properly inform the public about an incident – and only serves to entice the public into making judgments without having the benefit of all the facts. 'This is not fair or just. ' The formal written outcome of the hearing will be published at a later date. Pc Castle will also be placed on the police barred list, preventing him from holding any future role in policing.
