Garda vehicle rammed in foiled ATM robbery at Wicklow service station

A GANG of raiders in two 4x4 vehicles yesterday carried out an attempted ram-raid robbery on a service station in Co Wicklow.

One of the vehicles, a Toyota Landcruiser which had earlier been stolen in the Kilpedder area, was driven into the front doors of the Topaz garage in Kilcoole at about 3.15am in an attempt remove the store's ATM.

However, despite several efforts to extract the ATM, the intruders were eventually forced to flee empty-handed when a Garda patrol vehicle, alerted by the station's alarm, arrived on the scene.

The Garda 4x4 vehicle was rammed head-on by the gang's other vehicle, a black BMW X5, when the gardaí attempted to block the raiders' escape.

The Garda vehicle was then reversed into several times by the Landcruiser. disabling both vehicles. The raiders then transferred to the BMW before the gang made its escape.

The two gardaí were treated in Loughlinstown hospital for minor injuries following the incident.

A Garda spokesman said there was "a sustained effort" to cause injury and that if the two gardaí had been in a standard patrol car they would almost certainly have been seriously hurt.

The garage, closed at the time of the raid, was badly damaged.

Det Insp Frank Keenaghan, from Bray Garda station, said he believed the raid was the work of a gang that had carried out other raids on ATMs in the Dublin area in the last 12 months.

He appealed for assistance in tracing the BMW X5, which he said had recently been stolen in the Dublin area and possibly replated.