Council puts flower beds in front of cash machines to protect against ram raids
Flower beds will be placed in front of cash machines to protect against a spate of ram raids in the Midlands.
South Cambridgeshire Council has agreed to spend up to £100,000 on the concrete flower planters to block burglaries in which a heavy vehicle is driven into a building to gain access.
Such attacks are carried out against jewellery shops, but are also used to attack cash points. Criminals use heavy-duty forklifts and diggers, such as JCBs, which are widely used in farming, to lift out a machine from its hole in the wall, after it has been rammed by a different vehicle.
In February, two Co-ops in Cambridgeshire were attacked in the space of a week in Marleigh and Longstanton, with criminal gangs targeting cash points. This followed other ram-raids in Bassingbourn, Whittlesey and Soham last year.
The council first installed a concrete planter outside a Tesco cash machine in Huntingdon in December 2022, following a run of at least ten attacks on cash machines that year, but more are now to follow.
The first new flower bed will be installed in Cambourne, the council said. It is not yet known how many planters will be installed.
It is hoped that the heavy-duty flower planters will act like bollards, making it more difficult for criminals to drive cars or vans into ATMs.
The move comes as the number of cash machines across the country continues to drop. The number of both free-to-use and pay-to-use cash machines fell from 68,998 at the end of 2015 to just 47,711 by the end of last year.
Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, Dr Nik Johnson, said: “Ram-raids on cash machines can be distressing for communities and often disproportionately impact the most vulnerable.
“I hope the steps being taken give confidence and reassurance to those communities impacted by previous ram-raids.”
Detective Chief Inspector Chris O’Brien of Cambridgeshire Police said: “We know how much misery and devastation ATM thefts and ram raids can bring. This innovation and joint working showcases our commitment to tackling serious and organised crime within the county.”
DCI O’Brien said after a foiled attack in November that residents should be wary of farm or plant machinery being driven about at night, when it is not usually used.
In April 2023, a gang of four men were jailed for a total of 29 years at Liverpool Crown Court following a string of attacks on at least 19 cash machines.
More than £500,000 is estimated to have been stolen by the gang, as they used stolen vehicles and power tools to break into the ATMs in overnight attacks.
In 2022, six forces from across the North West, including officers from Lancashire, Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Merseyside and north Wales, began covert patrols to protect cash transport vehicles.
Recommended
Is your local bank branch closing? Use our postcode checker to find out
