Jail for thief for attempt to steal cash machine from Canterbury C-store

A jail term has been imposed on a man who took part in an attempt to steal a cash machine from the wall of a shop in Canterbury.

According to Kent Police, James Collins has been jailed for five years and five months at Canterbury Crown Court last month after admitting burglary at a previous hearing.

The incident happened in a shop in St Martin's Hill shortly after 2.30am on Nov 12 last year. Officers were called on the complaint that a group of offenders had stolen a digger from a nearby construction site and had used it to damage a wall surrounding a cash machine.

Collins, wearing a balaclava, was driving an Isuzu Trooper which was driven into an attending police car as it approached. A second patrol vehicle then made tactical contact with the Isuzu and Collins tried to flee on foot before being Tasered by officers and arrested.

The digger used was left in the road, along with the cash machine, and two other vehicles which were involved, a Range Rover and tipper truck, left the scene in the direction of Littlebourne.

The cash in the ATM was recovered by police, but extensive damage was done to the building. The incident happened in November last year and Collins, of Lenham Heath, Maidstone, was charged the following day.

He has been jailed for five years and five months at Canterbury Crown Court after admitting burglary at a previous hearing.

Senior Investigating Officer Detective Chief Inspector Chris Greenstreet said that this was an organised effort to steal money and the group did not care what harm came to members of the public or police officers who got in their way.

"The group repeatedly rammed police cars responding to the incident and the case shows the bravery of response officers in being the first at the scene of challenging and unpredictable situations," he said.