A Stapenhill shop has been targeted in a ram raid attack this morning on Monday, October 2.

Thieves used a digger-type machine to steal the cashpoint from outside the Spar shop in Rosliston Road at around 3am police have said.

It comes after a two previous raids on the same shop earlier this year - one involving robbers armed with knives.

Police are on the scene of the ram raid, the third incident to take place at the Spa this year
Police on the scene of the ram raid, the third incident to take place at the Spar shop this year

This morning the telescopic handler machine used to smash into the front of shop and wrench out the ATM machine was still outside the store.

There was a large blue plastic sheet covering the section of the shop where the ATM used to be. No-one was answering the phone at the store this morning.

Ram raid on the Spar Shop on Rosliston Road in Stapenhill, where a Telescopic Handler.
Ram raid on the Spar Shop in Rosliston Road in Stapenhill

A telescopic handler is heavy duty plant machinery with a long extending arm used to carry large, heavy loads. Staffordshire Police were on the scene at the spar shop this morning and the investigation is ongoing.

Ram raid on the Spar Shop on Rosliston Road in Stapenhill, where a Telescopic Handler.
Ram raid on the Spar Shop in Rosliston Road in Stapenhill

Officers have issued an appeal for anyone who saw anything or knows anything about the raid to get in touch.

A passerby heading into work in Burton said this morning: "I couldn't believe my eyes. It was very shocking. The telescopic machine was still outside and I assumed it had been a ram raid.

Ram raid on the Spar Shop on Rosliston Road in Stapenhill, where a Telescopic Handler.
Ram raid on the Spar Shop in Rosliston Road in Stapenhill

"There was glass and debris all over the place outside the shop. It was a right mess. We've had one or two of these in the area. There was the one in Hatton for starters. It's all very worrying. I feel very sorry for the owners of the Spar and I hope they can get it sorted and they are okay."

Ram raid on the Spar Shop on Rosliston Road in Stapenhill, where a Telescopic Handler.
Ram raid on the Spar Shop in Rosliston Road in Stapenhill

In May two masked robbers stormed the building and demanded that a staff member put cash in a bag. In a second raid June a car was deliberately rammed into the shop while shopkeeper, Aish Ahmad, was asleep upstairs.

Similar ram raids have taken place elsewhere in the area, with thieves using telescopic handling machines to ram their way through brick walls at shops and banks before ripping out the ATM machines. The handling machines have then been used to lift the cashpoints into a waiting truck.

Ram raid on the Spar Shop on Rosliston Road in Stapenhill, where a Telescopic Handler.
Ram raid on the Spar Shop in Rosliston Road in Stapenhill

Ram raids have taken place in Ashby at the Nationwide bank in July. In August the Co-op store in Kings Bromley was hit and the following day there was another raid at the Nisa store in Station Road, Hatton, in August.

A concerned resident took a photo of the scene in the early hours of the morning

Sarah Anne, who lives opposite the Spar shop took this pictured shortly after the ram raid. It shows the devastation to the front of the shop, with the telescopic handler dumped outside and the cash-point missing.

She said: "It's shocking to think it's always the same place being targeted I definitely won't be shopping there any more it's too risky."

If anyone has have any information on the latest incident, they should call Staffordshire Police on the 101 number, quoting incident number 49 with today's date.

The Burton Mail will keep you updated with this incident.

Looking for a job? There are thousands available at www.Fish4.co.uk