The attempted theft of an ATM machine at a petrol station at Largy, near Clones, Co Monaghan this morning has been foiled by gardaí.
A gang of four men rammed the wall holding the ATM machine with a lorry and then managed to drag it onto the back of the vehicle at 5.10 a.m. Gardaí were alerted by the owner of the premises of the attempted robbery.
When they arrived at the scene, two of the men sped away in a dark green saloon car with a Dublin registration. Their two colleagues followed in the truck carrying the ATM and were pursued by gardaí.
A short time later the gang abandoned the lorry and all four made their escape in the car.
The ATM machine was recovered just outside Clones. A technical examination of the scene will be carried out later today.