Ram raider drove at police as getaway car dragged cash machine behind it

Ram raiders stole a cash machine from a Co-op shop then one of them drove at police who were trying to block their getaway car, forcing one officer to leap to safety.

Video footage released by Suffolk Police shows an officer scale a wall as a Volkswagen Golf, dragging a cash machine behind it, crashes into two marked cars as it forces its way between them.

A force spokesman said the officer could have been crushed between his car and the wall if he had not jumped to safety.

The cash machine detached from the back of the VW after it crashed through the gap between the police cars.

A man and a boy were arrested hours later and have since been jailed.

Police were called at 2.40am on September 10 last year as ram raiders used a Land Rover Defender to smash their way into a Co-op store and drag out the cash machine.

The Land Rover got stuck in the process and was abandoned, so the raiders attached the cash machine to the back of the VW and drove towards the beach.

It turned down a dead end and was located by police, but the raiders smashed their way past two marked cars.

The vehicle was abandoned after a chase which reached speeds of more than 100mph and saw the VW driven in the wrong direction along the A12.

Police said the pair had raided the Co-op together, possibly with other suspects who have not been identified, and the 17-year-old boy had been driving the VW.

The Land Rover was stolen from a property in the village of Gisleham earlier the same morning, after the raiders had attempted to steal another Land Rover in Lowestoft.

Morgan, of Common Road, Potton, Bedfordshire, admitted burglary, theft of a motor vehicle and attempted theft of a motor vehicle at an earlier hearing.

He was sentenced at Cambridge Crown Court on January 29 to five years in prison, Suffolk Police said.

The 17-year-old boy, from the Bedford area, admitted dangerous driving, burglary, theft of a vehicle and attempted theft of a vehicle.

He was also convicted of a separate burglary conspiracy involving offences across the eastern region.

He was sentenced at Cambridge Crown Court on December 11 to a total of 14 months detention and banned from driving for 19 months, the force said.

Detective Inspector Matt Adams, of East CID at Lowestoft Police Station, said: “Jack Morgan and his 17-year-old accomplice were apprehended as a result of excellent police work and I would like to take this opportunity to commend the bravery of the officers involved in the pursuit and arrests of these two individuals.

“They showed wanton disregard for life and property, with the 17-year-old driving the vehicle extremely dangerously and almost crushing one officer who was very fortunate to escape without sustaining life-changing injuries.”