Petrol station in Derry goes to extreme lengths to protect ATM after recent thefts
A filling station in Co Derry has gone to great lengths to project its ATM after a spate of robberies on both sides of the border in recent times.
The Centra store in Maghera put large concrete blocks around the ATM after a cash machine was ripped from the wall in nearby Dungiven over the weekend.
The large blocks were put in place as there have been eight such robberies in the region this year, according to the
In these incidents, thieves are using stolen diggers to rip the ATMs out of the walls.
Just last week, an ATM was stolen in Castleblaney, Co Monaghan which led to road closures as these incidents accelerate on both sides of the border.
Yesterday, the reported that gardaí in Donegal are on high alert after the theft of a digger and the attempted theft of another in the county.
Garda Sgt Eunan Walsh appealed to members of the public to be vigilant.
"Obviously we have to keep an open mind on these robberies or attempted robberies because of the recent spate of thefts of ATMs," he said.
"The latest attempt to steal a digger happened in Letterkenny over the weekend when a machine parked beside the Letterkenny Community Centre was interfered with.
"We're not sure if this is in any way connected with these ATM thefts but we have to consider all options," he added.
