A PEACEFUL village was woken in the early hours of Saturday morning during a dramatic and “frightening” attempt to steal a cash machine.

Shortly after 12.30am, a dark coloured Isuzu Trooper was driven to the front of the Co-op on Shipton Road in Milton-under-Wychwood.

The would-be theives, wearing masks, attached a rope to the machine and used the car to drag the ATM machine out of the shop before driving off with the cash machine being dragged behind.

But during the getwaway the rope snapped so no money was stolen.

However, a number of cars parked in the area were damaged. No-one was injured.

The car was going in the direction of the A424 Stow Road. 

One witness described the incident as loud, saying there were lots of engine noises and squealing tyres.

The shop was closed for a few hours on Saturday, but reopened today for its normal trading hours of 7am to 11pm.

Police believe a further two vehicles were involved; a dark coloured BMW with a concealed number plate and a smaller white car.

The Isuzu Trooper was abandoned about a mile away from the scene and set on fire.

Detective Sergant, Wendy Greenslade, from local CID at Banbury police station, said:  “This was an audacious ram raid in a quiet village and I would like to reassure the local community that this is a rare occurrence.

“Several witnesses have already come forward but I would ask anyone who has any information or saw or heard anything suspicious, in the late evening or early morning, to contact TVP on 101 quoting URN 50 (20/8)."

No-one has yet been arrested for the attempted burglary and Thames Valley Police have issued an appeal for anyone with information to contact them on 101.