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Subterranean cash machine plot foiled

29/08/2007

A daring plot to steal a cash machine from below has been foiled thanks to workers laying cables at a building site near Fallowfield Retail Park.

Workmen discovered a 40-ft long, 5-ft high tunnel that was heading towards the cash machine at a Blockbuster DVD rental outlet.

It had been dug out from a nearby railway embankment and had electric lighting, scaffolding poles and a ventilation system.

The entrance to the passage was a wooden trapdoor which had been hidden by soil. It is not known how the would-be thieves disposed of the soil from inside the tunnel.

Mick Duffy, from Stainforth Construction, told the BBC: "It would appear somebody was tunnelling from outside the site boundary towards the cash machine.

"It's very well constructed - a semi-professional job with lighting, a fresh air supply and very well shored and lined out."

Greater Manchester Police have confirmed they are treating the subterranean passageway, which has now been filled with concrete, as an intended burglary.