More than 25 shops have been targeted by gangs ploughing vehicles into walls and windows in an attempt to steal cash machines in the last 18 months, new figures have revealed.
Derbyshire and Leicestershire Police have both revealed the high number of ram raids they are investigating as advice has been issued to enable shops to protect their premises from the attacks.
Derbyshire Police has been called to eight ram raids in the last 12 months, while Leicestershire has been called to 19 cash raids in the last 18 months.
Figures for Staffordshire Police have not yet been released, but the Burton Mail knows of at least two in East Staffordshire in the last three months.
Some of the more high-profile raids in South Derbyshire have included the Nisa store, in Hatton, where shocking CCTV footage showed a gang using a digger to smash their way into the shop before dragging the cash machine from the wall and loading it into a trailer.
Officers were sent to the scene immediately and confronted the gang, with one thug throwing a metal bar at officers before they sped off in the vehicles. The raid happened on Thursday, August 3.
North West Leicestershire has seen a spate of high-profile ram raids on shops in Ashby. On July 10 shoppers and retailers woke up to scenes of devastation at the Nationwide Building Society when a digger was used to smash into the building and steal the cash machine.
More recently in Ashby, the Aldi supermarket was targeted on November 3. A video captured the scene after the incident had taken place, and showed debris, including the key pad from the cash machine, covering the floor. The thieves, however, escaped empty-handed.
While Staffordshire Police have not yet been able to provide exact figures it is known there was a raid at the Spar Shop, in Rosliston Road, Stapenhill, on October 2, where thieves used a telescopic handler to rip the ATM machine from the wall.
The Co-op, in Kings Bromley, was also targeted on August 2. A masked gang used a digger to smash their way through the side of the store in an apparent attempt to steal the ATM machine from inside. The attempt failed and they left empty handed, leaving the cash machine dangling from the arm of the JCB digger by a cable.
Officers are offering advice to businesses with ATMs on how they can reduce the risk of being targeted.
A document created by the UK insurers group RISCAuthority and published by the Fire Protection Association (FPA) has been developing best practice for the protection of people, property, business and the environment from loss due to fire and other risks, such as ram raids.
Specifically on ram raids, it suggests several countermeasures to protect shops. One approach is to physically strengthen the shell of the building.
However, in most cases owners opt for an external solution such as installing bollards, either retractable, fixed or moveable, or natural barriers such as mounds, embankments, ditches and/or permanent stone/concrete structures.
However, the document adds: "Solutions such as standard roadside safety barriers and planters are often relied upon and the visual deterrent may be impressive but testing has revealed that the actual stopping power can be disappointing when challenged by the determined use of a heavy vehicle."
