Co-op destroyed in ATM ram raid theft before truck set on fire

A helicopter was used to search for suspects after a vehicle was stopped in a police pursuit by a stinger

A cash machine was ripped out of a wall in a ram raid before a truck was set on fire. Officers were called at 3.45am on Wednesday (June24) to reports of an incident at the Co-op in High Street, Lakenheath.

A JCB telehandler was used to rip the cash machine out of the wall before it was loaded onto a black Nissan Navara pick-up truck. The Navara drove away from the scene in convoy with a blue Volkswagen Golf R along Station Road towards Brandon.

Officers arrived at the scene in under 10 minutes and began to search the local area. Officers from Norfolk Police were called to assist.

At around 4.30am the Navara was located in Norfolk at Cowle’s Drove in Hockwold. It had been set on fire and was found with the cash machine.

As officers were heading towards the fire they passed a car coming towards them, driving away from the fire. This matched the description of the VW Golf seen leaving the scene of the ram raid, so police units in the area were alerted and a stinger was deployed in an attempt to stop the speeding car.

Officers pursued the VW Golf – which had successfully had a tyre blown out by the stinger – but it was driven into a field off Mill Drift in Hockwold where it became stuck in mud and was abandoned. The occupants made off and searches continued assisted by a National Police Air Service helicopter. They were not located.

At 8.25am officers were notified by members of the public that they had found another black Nissan Navara pick-up abandoned on farmland north of RAF Lakenheath, off Wangford Road. Police said it is not yet confirmed whether this vehicle is linked to the crime.

A section of High Street in Lakenheath near the Co-op is currently closed as the damage to the building is assessed and investigative work takes place. There are also police scenes in place at the locations where the vehicles have been located.

Police are appealing for any witnesses to this incident and asking any motorists driving in the area at the time of the incident – or near any of the locations the vehicles mentioned above were found – with a dashcam fitted in their vehicle, to review the footage for any material that may be of assistance.

Anyone with information is asked to contact West CID at Bury St Edmunds Police Station, quoting reference 37/36196/26. They can also call 101 or contact Crimestoppers anonymously.