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The cashpoint machine at Moortown Service Station was emptied

MASKED raiders fled with £22,000 after emptying the cashpoint machine at Moortown Service Station in Ringwood.

The gang cut phone lines and alarms before using special cutting equipment to burn through the solid steel rear of the machine in what was described as a "slick" burglary on Monday April 28.

The nature of the offence has led Hampshire police to believe the gang of four must have carried out similar crimes in the past.

Now the owner of the Christchurch Road station, Jeff Coy, has appealed for information, which may lead to arrests.

Mr Coy said staff discovered the offence when they arrived for work at around 6am.

"They cut a hole in the back of the cashpoint and then managed to open the door and get the money out," he said.

"It must have created a lot of noise and a lot of smoke but they made sure they disabled the smoke alarms before they started.

"Nothing else was touched. They have obviously done it before - it was slick."

He told The Forest Journal that CCTV footage shows dark shapes moving around the floor, "a bit like the SAS" but does not show any faces or give any information about the offenders.

New Forest district police commander chief inspector Gary Cooper said: "This is an unusual burglary that appears to have been pre-planned by committed and determined professionals.

"A team of officers are currently following a number of lines of inquiry but we would appeal to members of the public who saw any suspicious activity in or around the petrol station in the weeks or days preceding the incident to contact us.

"We would also appeal to motorists who were driving in the area of Christchurch Road (B3347) and Moortown Lane, Ringwood in the early hours of Monday morning between mid night and 3-30am to contact us as they may have passed or seen a vehicle that would be of interest to us."

A police spokesperson said that if anyone has information no matter how insignificant it may appear they are asked to contact Ringwood Police on 0845 045 4545 or the free and anonymous Crimestoppers line on 0800 555 111.

9:42am Thursday 8th May 2008

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