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Raiders 'used gas' to blow up Darlington Matalan ATM

Destruction caused by Darlington cash machine blast

Raiders used gas to blow up a cash machine outside a Matalan store in Darlington, police have said.

The machine was targeted in the early hours of Thursday, with the explosion reportedly heard up to two miles away.

No-one was hurt in the blast and detectives believe a "quantity of cash" may have been taken.

Durham Police said the scale of the explosion may also have resulted in "one or more" of the offenders being injured.

The damaged kiosk
The explosion was reportedly heard several miles away

Insp Chris Knox, of the force, said: "Following our ongoing investigation into yesterday's explosion, I can confirm that we now believe the blast was caused by gas which was ignited.

"Officers are continuing to follow up a number of lines of inquiry and I would once again like to reassure residents that this was a targeted and isolated incident."

Police are trying to trace a car that was seen leaving the area at the time.

Debris from the blast was scattered over a wide area outside the store.