The front wall of East Bierley Post Office was destroyed in a ram-raid this morning.
A Jeep Cherokee reversed through a plate glass window, and the occupants attempted to drag away the shop's ATM at about 3.30am.
A rope was attached to the car and to the machine, and then the driver attempted to pull it along.
However the machine fell on its front and the raiders appear to have left with nothing.
Postmaster Penelope Scott-Rowley said: "It was as though a bomb had gone off."
Miss Scott-Rowley said her son had seen two figures running away from the scene.
The shop, in South View Road, is closed until further notice.
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