RAMRAIDERS used a stolen digger to smash into a garage in Ingleton and steal a cash machine containing £26,000.

But before carrying out the robbery the thieves went to Ingleton Police Station and slashed the tyres on two vans and a patrol car so that officers would be slowed down in responding to the incident.

The robbers struck at the Three Peaks Filling Station on the A65 at 3.50am on Tuesday when the garage was closed.

The JCB used in the incident had been stolen from a building site 300 yards away.

The driver of the digger drove the machine into the garage wall and used its bucket to claw the Co-op cash machine from the wall and place it in a getaway pickup truck.

The JCB was left at the site with its engine running.

Police believe there were at least two other vehicles involved in the robbery.

These included a red/orange Toyota HiLux pickup, which was stolen from Settle on the same night as the ramraid and was recovered burned out in Eggleston, County Durham, on Wednesday morning. The cash machine was in the vehicle.

The other car was a white Vauxhall Astra GTE with spotlamps.

This was stolen from Casterton in Cumbria overnight between Monday and Tuesday and was found abandoned between Ingleton and Dent on Wednesday.

Forensic examinations are being carried out on both vehicles.

It is thought the team of thieves consisted of a minimum of three people.

The incident is being linked with a similar one committed at Middleton-in-Teesdale in County Durham in the early hours of Saturday.

On this occasion the ramraiders crashed into the village's Co-op store in a JCB and ripped a cash point from the wall.

Scenes of crime officers have been visiting all the sites involved in the Ingleton ramraid.

Local police have also been studying CCTV footage from the garage and will also be liasing closely with colleagues in Durham.

Detective Constable Peter Elliott from Skipton CID explained that dye capsules had exploded on some of the notes.

He said that police wanted to hear from anyone who received cash with a splash of red on it.

DC Elliott told the Herald: "We would ask rural building sites when packing up to make every effort possible to immobilise their JCBs."

He said that the incident was unusual, but obviously premeditated.

Janette Shingler, from United Co-operatives, told the Herald that damage had occurred to the room housing the machine, but the rest of the garage was unaffected.

"The incident was recorded by CCTV and we are now assisting the local police who are trying to catch the offenders. Due to the timing of the incident no staff were on site, although staff and police were quick to respond to the alarm activation," she added.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the police witness line on 01423 539334 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.