Residents have spoken of their shock after a cash machine was torn from a high street building during an early morning raid.
Police were called to Halstead High Street on Thursday morning after reports a telehandler had been used to rip the ATM from the wall, leaving significant damage to the building next to Daniel Robinson & Sons.
The vehicle involved is believed to have been a Matbro lifting truck.
The road was closed while police and forensics attended the scene, but has since reopened.
Locals say the incident has left the town unsettled, with some drawing comparisons to a similar theft in recent years.
Ruth, who has lived in Halstead for 25 years, said the damage to the building was particularly upsetting.
She said: “I think it’s a beautiful building and it’s part of the town. It is shocking.
“This happened up at the Co-op on Colchester Road a few years ago, but you haven’t heard of something like this happen in a long while."
Another resident, Phil, said the incident immediately brought back memories of the previous attack.
“It reminds me of the one in Colchester Road. That was a right mess. It triggers memories of that,” he said.
“It’s shocking that it’s happened again. I guess whoever’s done it knew what they were doing.”
Others, who did not wish to be named, described the incident as both “distressing” and “worrying” for a town of Halstead’s size.
One said: “For this to keep happening every few years in a small town is distressing.”
Another added: “It can’t be someone from town who has done this.
"You’d like to think one of our own wouldn’t cause this unsettling shock.
"It has been years since something like this happened in Halstead. I just hope this time it’s the last.”
A spokesman for Essex Police confirmed that no arrests have been made and enquiries into the incident are ongoing.
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