A York city centre street was cordoned off by police after raiders smashed their way into a post office.
The whole front window of the Colliergate branch is gone and debris strewn across the road after the raid in the early hours of Wednesday morning (12 June).
A cash machine was left lying in the middle of the street.
The ATM was one of three targeted in the same night by criminals, police said today.
- at 1.20am officers were called to a break-in at Starbeck Post Office, Harrogate
- at 3.56am they were called to the York post office raid
- and at 6.23am reports came in of an attack on the Co-op on Hull Road, York.
They believe the incidents are linked, and a gang of four or five men is responsible.
Cash stolen
Police believe the intruders targeted the ATM inside the Colliergate post office. Investigations are ongoing to establish how much money was taken from it.
At the Hull Road Co-op, offenders damaged the shutters at a cashpoint but did not leave with any money.
Workers there reported the attempted break-in as they came in to work.
How to help the police
| Call North Yorkshire Police on 101 and select option 1 | |
| Contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or via the website |
| Quote reference number 12190105573 |
In each case, officers attended and secured the scene and conducted extensive searches of the areas.
On Colliergate police taped off the scene with vans at either side.
The post office, which also includes a bureau de change, will inevitably remain closed for some time.
Series of raids
These raids are the latest in a series of attacks on ATMs.
On May 23, raiders broke into the Select Convenience store and post office on North Moor Road, Huntington and tried to steal from the cash machine.
Other raids on cash machines include one on Haxby Road on May 24, and a late night attack on an ATM at the Co-op on Tang Hall Lane last December.
