Overview
- A gang used a JCB telehandler to remove an ATM from the Co‑op on Lakenheath High Street in the early hours of Wednesday, June 24, then loaded it into a black Nissan Navara.
- Police found the Navara burned with the cash machine inside at Cowle’s Drove in Hockwold, Norfolk, and as officers moved to the scene they deployed a stinger that punctured a Volkswagen Golf’s tyre; occupants abandoned the Golf in a muddy field and evaded capture despite a helicopter search.
- Officers later discovered a second black Nissan Navara abandoned near RAF Lakenheath; inquiries are under way to establish whether it is linked to the theft.
- The Co‑op has since reopened to customers after investigative work and repairs, while police scenes remain at multiple locations as forensic teams process evidence.
- Police are treating the raid as part of a string of organised telehandler-led ATM thefts across the East of England, have appealed for witnesses and dashcam footage, and face pressure to link offences through a multi‑force probe led by specialist units.