AN eye-witness has told how he came upon the scene of the theft of a cash machine in Tenbury Wells just minutes after the robbery had taken place.

The front of the bank in the High Street was badly damaged in what is believed to have been a ram raid incident.
It happened at 3.11am this morning (Monday, December 21).

Will Griffiths, 46, was driving through Cleobury High Street at 3.15am on his way to his shift as a delivery driver when he noticed a JCB cherry picker blocking the street.
"At first I thought 'who on earth has left this here?' But then I looked to the left and saw a gaping hole in the wall of Lloyds Bank.
"I stopped my car, and could hear that the JCB engine was still running. I rang 999 and reported the robbery. 
"I then saw two local residents run out out of their houses. One who lives next door to the bank said he'd heard a massive bang and when he looked out of his window there was a masked man standing outside. He and the other man who lives opposite the bank both saw the cash point being lifted out by the cherry picker before the thieves made a quick getaway in a Land Rover. 
"The police told me to carry on to work so I drove on the pavement to get around the JCB.
"It's not the sort of thing you expect to happen in a small Shropshire town! "People think that nothing happens in the countryside, this has certainly given the local community a huge shock."
But he added: "I'd be surprised if there was any money in it at that time on a Sunday, it often runs out on a weekend!" 

West Mercia Police are asking anyone with any information to information about the incident is asked to contact West Mercia Police on 101 quoting incident number 49s of Monday 21 December.