Thieves blew up a cash machine in Presteigne, waking up nearby residents.

The machine on Station Road is thought to have been pumped full of gas and ignited during the raid at 12.35am yesterday.

Residents were shocked as the sound of the explosion, which caused two windows to shatter in a nearby house, rang out across the town.

The contents of the destroyed cash machine, which is understood to belong to Cash Zone, were stolen and the site has since been cordoned off by police.

Tyres on the police vehicles at Presteigne Police Station were slashed around the same time as the explosion, preventing a police pursuit.

However a Dyfed-Powys Police spokeswoman said it is not known whether the two crimes are connected.

Presteigne town mayor Colin Kirkby said: “The explosion was heard all over the town.

“I was talking to the workman and he said what they tend to do is fill the machine up with gas and ignite it.

“It’s fairly spectacular, the machine is just in bits.”

Cllr Kirkby said the machine is one of only two in the town and that if it wasn’t for the cash machine at Lloyds Bank, it would have serious implications for residents.

He also said it is not the first time the machine has been targeted by raiders.

“This is the second time this machine has been attacked, so it feels likely that there might be another one”.

He said: “It was about a year and a half ago. It took a while to get it fixed, it was only recently they had completely re-done it, painted it and made it look tidy so it really wasn’t there long.

“Last time they used angle grinders so it took quite a while and it would have been noisy, but this time it was silent up until the explosion.”

It is understood that there is no CCTV in the area of the cash machine.

Cllr Kirkby said: “When I was talking to the workman, he said they quite often turn up in balaclavas and with false number plates.

“The last time they had stolen my and one of my neighbour’s number plates. We did report it to the police, but they thought the plates had probably been dumped somewhere as they hadn’t seen anything.”

Cllr Kirkby said residents living opposite the machine thought a car had crashed into their house as the noise from the explosion was so great. It is not certain how much money was taken from the machine or whether it will be replaced however Cllr Kirkby said it would be discussed at the next town council meeting.

He said: “It is very sad, being that we’re in a small rural community with low crime rates, I think it’s more disturbing if something like this does happen.

“The workman had made the electricity safe, but he was ringing up Cash Zone to take the machine away as it was so destroyed.”

Beverley Baynham, who represents Presteigne on Powys County Council, said she was in bed when she heard the explosion.

She said: “The machine was literally in bits afterwards. I was in bed when I heard it and I thought ‘oh, the gate must be banging’ but I fell back asleep.

“That cash machine is in the middle of Presteigne whereas I live right on the edge past John Beddoes School – so I’m not close at all really. It must have been terrifying for the poor people who live near it.”

The thieves stole the money from the machine before they escaped at speed in what is thought to be a dark-coloured Audi or a similar type of car.

DCI Martin Slevin of Dyfed Powys Police said: “Police officers and crime scene investigators are at the scene making enquiries to identify suspects. There was a similar attack in Llanfair Caereinion on October 31 and we are exploring the links between these two attacks.

“We are working with neighbouring forces as part of the investigation and increasing patrols in areas we consider vulnerable to targeting.

“I would ask members of our communities to be vigilant and report any suspicious activity or vehicles around cash machines to the police.”

Anyone with information or who witnessed the explosion should call the police on 101.

Cash Zone did not respond when contacted for a comment.