Man (28) arrested over double ATM theft in Antrim

A 28-year-old man has been arrested over the theft of a double ATM from a Tesco supermarket in Antrim town last week.

The man was being questioned today on suspicion of conspiracy to steal and possession of class B drugs.

A digger was used to rip two cash machines from the wall of the Tesco Extra store on Castle Way early on Friday morning. The digger was later set alight.

Around half an hour after the raid, the machines were found on the Birch Hill Road - a few miles from the supermarket.

It is understood cash was still in the machines when they were recovered.

Detectives are continuing to examine the ATMs as part of their investigation.

Police set up a dedicated taskforce early this year after cash machines across Northern Ireland were targeted in a string of robberies.

The number of smash and grab robberies dropped over late spring and summer.

However, criminals have tried to steal several ATMs over the last few months.

In September, thieves attempted to take a cash machine from a service station in Enniskillen.

Last month, a petrol station's forecourt roof in Ballynahinch, Co Down was torn down in an attempted ATM robbery.

In the same month, thieves tried to rip a cash machine from Belfast City Hospital before ramming the shutters of a string of businesses in the city and Lisburn.