HALIFAX bank in West Street, Farnham, has become the latest victim of the area’s ram-raid epidemic.

Police received reports of the devastating raid at around 3am this morning and arrived to find a huge hole in the front of the branch, and a JCB 'telehandler' forklift abandoned in the middle of West Street.

The road remained closed between the junctions with Downing Street and The Hart as of 5pm, and according to officers is likely to remain so for much of Friday.

A forensics team arrived at the scene at around 8.40am to review the evidence, followed by a succession of private security guards, surveyors, electricians and other tradesmen throughout the day to make the building safe and secure.

The entire raid lasted just six or seven minutes, according to police at the scene, and the ATM was later discarded at the Shepherd and Flock roundabout, temporarily blocking the A31. The stolen cash machine reportedly contained no cash when recovered, and it was quickly removed from the roundabout before the morning rush-hour.

The front of Halifax bank, which is located directly opposite the Herald office, has been completely devastated - with the JCB seemingly used to punch a hole in the front of the building and rip out the cash machine.

Much of the wooden fascia of the historic Georgian building lay in splinters strewn across the pavement and West Street, while the raid also exposed a steel 'RSJ' beam propping up the first floor, and two floors of student accommodation above.

The masonry inside the building has also been badly cracked - prompting concerns for the building's safety - and both neighbouring shops SpaceNK and Sweaty Betty closed for the entirety of Friday.

Just one student, 21-year-old Ellie, was staying in the flats at the time of the raid, and told the Herald she was woken up at around 3am by what felt like "three earthquakes". The UCA acting under-graduate added that the building is usually home to seven students.

Police confirmed the JCB was stolen overnight from a building site around three miles away across the county border in Hampshire. The large yellow forklift is apparently owned by Yorkshire-registered UK Forks, which describes itself online as 'the UK’s specialist provider in telehandler and rotational telehandler hire'. According to the DVLA, the vehicle is five years old and weighs 10,880 kilos, or approximately 10 tonnes.

A Surrey Police spokesman said: "We were called to Halifax on West Street in Farnham just after 3am this morning (August 17) following reports of a ram raid. An ATM machine was stolen after extensive damage to the building was caused by a JCB.

"It was also reported that a man made off from the scene in a white Mini heading off towards the Coxbridge roundabout.

"An investigation is now underway and anyone who witnessed the incident or saw the vehicle in the area at the time is asked to call Surrey Police on 101 quoting PR/ 45180088260."

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.

In the previous incident, less than two weeks ago, ram-raiders drove a hole through Santander’s Haslemere branch in Wey Hill to rip out its cash machine in the early hours of August 4.

On that occasion the 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 toward 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.

A stolen forklift was also used in a July ram raid on the Tesco cashpoint in The Ridgway, 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.