A man has been charged in connection with the attempted theft of an ATM in Oxted, Surrey, on Saturday March 4.

The incident happened at the Esso petrol station in High Street, Oxted at 3.37am and a man was later arrested in Godstone Road, Purley.

Mason Lyndsey, aged 21, of Fairmead Road, Croydon has been charged with causing an explosion likely to endanger life or damage property, attempted theft, obstruction of a police constable and criminal damage to a police car.

The manager of the petrol station has spoken of his shock at finding the garage’s cash machine “blown up”.

The manager, who asked not to be named, told the Surrey Mirror he was working in the back office of the 24-hour garage when he heard a loud noise.

He said: “I was doing paperwork when I heard a large bang. It was like a bomb had gone off.

“I thought something might have exploded in the garage, I went out to the cash desk and saw two people running away towards the pub.

“I called the police straight away, the cash machine was literally blown up. It was crazy.

“Surrey Police came down; there was a patrol car nearby so they came straight here.

“The police car turned up and I went outside, I could see the cash machine. It was like someone had bombed it.”

The manager has played back CCTV footage. He said: “I saw them on the CCTV carrying two big gas cylinders, one was red and one was white.

“It was two big, built and tall men, they were wearing balaclavas and hoodies and gloves. All dark colours, grey and black.

“It looked like they were wiring something to the cash machine, there were wires or pipes or something which they put down around the machine and off to the side.

“Then they lit it like a fuse, and you could see it moving like some old fashioned movie with a dynamite explosion.

“Then it blew up and the front came off, they came back towards it after and then just ran away.

“I don’t think they managed to take anything. It was a big bang, a lot of people would have been alerted.”