Passers-by would be forgiven for thinking nothing untoward was taking place (Picture: PA)
Can you spot the delicate handiwork of the criminal who attempted to steal an ATM from the wall of a West Sussex Co-op this morning?
It’s maybe not quite Ocean’s Eleven, but this heist scene is what greeted police officers in Barnham at 2.15am.
They had originally been called out to reports that a crane had been stolen from a nearby builders’ yard, and after searching the area, found the vehicle in question being driven through a supermarket wall.
The driver, a 43-year-old man from Ashford in Middlesex, decided to make a run for it on foot but didn’t get particularly far.
He was arrested on suspicion of theft of a motor vehicle and criminal damage, and remains in custody.
Unfortunately, the wall of the Co-op wasn’t the only thing impacted by the would-be robber’s actions.
The Southern Rail depot is located in the same building – and the damage led directly to rail misery for a number of passengers.
A spokesman for the train operator said: ‘The Co-op is part of the same building and sits next door to the train crew depot, where train drivers and on-train colleagues collect their equipment and sign on each morning to staff Southern’s train service.’
A completely innocent postbox was taken out in the process (Picture: PA)
Customer services director Jenny Saunders said: ‘We were forced to close the depot until 9am when a structural engineer from the council confirmed it was safe to enter.
‘Until then, our crew were being organised to sign on at alternative locations wherever possible but we could only run a reduced service and there has been a lot of disruption to our customers’ journeys today, for which I apologise.
‘We arranged ticket acceptance with other transport providers and we have been rebuilding the service.’
She said disruption was expected to last into this afternoon.
A Sussex Police spokesman said: ‘Police arrested a man in Barnham on Tuesday morning after stopping an aggravated burglary in progress at a supermarket.
‘Officers had been called to a building site in Yapton Road at around 2.15am to reports of a small crane having been stolen.
‘Response units were deployed to nearby cash machines and came across a crane attempting to steal an ATM from a supermarket in Barnham Road.’
He added that following the arrest, ‘a white Volvo XC60 was also seen to leave the scene’.
Astonishingly, the police got wind of the sneaky crime and arrested him on the spot.