A cash machine on a Dorset forecourt has been blown apart in a failed attempt to steal its contents.

Residents near the Esso-branded Highland Service Station, on Ashley Road, Poole, were woken by the explosion at about 3.20am on Thursday May 21.

CCTV from a nearby local business showed three raiders connecting a gas bottle to the cash machine, which was alongside the shop building on the forecourt.

The blast blew the door of the cash machine 20 feet across the forecourt, but the cash department remained intact and no money was stolen.

Crime scene investigators cordoned off the garage and it reopened at around 12.40pm.

A spokesman for Esso said: “The ATM at the Highland Service Station in Poole was damaged during a raid in the early hours of this morning.

"We are co-operating with the police in their search for those responsible. We can also confirm that no-one was hurt in the incident and that the service station has now reopened for business.”