RAM raiders drove a hole through Satander’s Haslemere branch in Wey Hill to rip out its cash machine in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Thieves stole a forklift out on loan from Havant-based Marsh Plant Hire to a nearby building site when they struck after 4am and they made their getaway towards Hindhead, in a Land Rover Defender stolen from Alton.

A Haslemere resident, who preferred not to be named, was able to film the ram raid in progress and passed his footage on to Surrey Police to help their investigation, which has so far failed to stop the gang.

“It was shocking and very upsetting,” he told The Herald. “I was woken by the noise at 4am and called the police, who asked me to do a video. There were lots of £10 notes scattered around on the ground afterwards.”

Responding to complaints posted on social media that it had taken police 40 minutes to respond to the first emergency call, Surrey Police claimed officers were at the scene within 15 minutes.

The police helicopter was also scrambled.

A Surrey Police spokesman said: “We were called to Wey Hill in Haslemere shortly before 4.30am, on August 4, following a report of a fork lift being driven into Santander in order to steal a cash machine.

The fork lift is believed to have been stolen from a nearby building site.

“Multiple units were assigned, with the first unit arriving at Santander within 15 minutes. Other units were assigned to patrol local routes around the scene, searching for the suspects and any other vehicles involved.

“The cash machine was removed from the Santander branch and was later found empty in Bordon, Hampshire, along with a Land Rover Defender which was stolen from an address in Alton on August 3.”

The Land Rover Defender belonged to a Basingstoke man, who preferred to remain anonymous. He said it was stolen from the East Hampshire town in the early hours of August 3, along with chainsaws and tools. The stolen vehicle has now been recovered but minus its roof.

In a message posted on Facebook on Monday, after issuing a general appeal on social media for help to track it down, he said: “Thanks everyone for all the shares and responses.

“We have found it and it’s been recovered so I’ll get it back minus the roof. Couldn’t find that.”

Santander assured its customers the branch would be back in action shortly.

A spokesman told The Herald on Monday: “We are working hard to re-open as soon as possible and are hopeful that this can be by the middle of this week.

“During this temporary closure, our customers can visit any Santander branch – the nearest branches are: 104 High St, Godalming, GU7 1HG and; 17 The Borough, Farnham GU9 7NG.

“Alternatively, customers may find it convenient to use online, mobile or telephone banking or they can use the Post Office for cash and cheque deposits, cash withdrawals and to check their account balance.”

Organised gangs have torn out scores of cash machines using stolen diggers, tractors and 4x4s in a rural crime wave in which South West Surrey and East Hampshire have been repeatedly targeted since the start of the year.

Ram raiders demolished part of Haslemere Station in the early hours of Christmas Eve to steal anATM, also using a forklift they had stolen earlier that night that was on loan from Marsh Plant Hire.

More recently, a stolen forklift was used in a July ram raid on a Tesco cash point in Farnham, which followed a similar raid a month earlier targeting the supermarket’s Bordon branch..

In March the ATM at Liphook’s Lloyds Bank branch was ripped out using a stolen tractor.

Marsh Plant Hire managing director Andy Honeywell said: “This is now very prevalent and we need the police to catch these people.

“I am working with the police on several of these incidents. The forklift used on Saturday was stolen from a nearby housing site.”

nAnyone with information which can help police inquries are asked to call 101, or online at www.report.police.uk – see p7.