A REWARD of up to £25,000 has been offered for information to the arrest and conviction of the people responsible for an attempted ram raid of a Cranleigh cashpoint.
The reward has been issued through the British Bankers Association (BBA) Reward Scheme, which has numerous members, including Lloyds Banking Group.
The attempted ram raid took place just after 5am on Friday, September 28, when two men, wearing balaclavas, used a digger to try and break into a Lloyds TSB cash machine in the High Street.
The suspects failed to smash into the unit and reversed the digger and eventually ran off towards a neighbouring housing estate.
The green digger was left at the scene with its engine running, and a white panel van was also abandoned outside the bank.
The incident caused structural damage to the bank and to a wall adjoining a house opposite.
Detective Constable, Andrew Skoglund, said: "I hope that the offer of such a substantial reward from the British Bankers' Association will encourage members of the public to come forward with the vital information we need to bring these desperate offenders to justice.
"The incident was highly unusual and caused a large amount of damage to several buildings and was very inconvenient for residents and local businesses in the town centre.
"I feel certain that people must have seen this distinctive digger making its way to the town centre. The machine was stolen overnight from the Godalming area and it seems it was driven to the cashpoint – it would have been noisy and I anticipate it would be quite an unusual sight at such an early hour of the morning.
"Serious incidents of this nature are rare in Surrey and I can assure Cranleigh residents that we are continuing to follow up a number of lines of enquiry as part of this ongoing and extensive investigation.
"If you have any information about the movements of the digger or that of the offenders or the van, please call Surrey Police as soon as possible."
Anyone with information is asked to contact Surrey Police on 101 quoting reference WV/12/4297, or call independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
For further queries on the reward please contact the BBA Press Office on 020 7216 8970.
