A CASH machine has been ripped from a wall in Co Louth.
A digger and lorry used in the raid were left at the scene outside a Bank of Ireland branch on Main Street in Dunleer.
The ATM was dumped on the street and an undisclosed sum of money was understood to have been stolen.
Gardaí said they were called at around 3.20am on Saturday and believe those responsible fled north of Dunleer in a silver Toyota Land Cruiser with a partial registration of 04-MH.
A spokeswoman said: "A significant amount of damage was caused to the premises.
"Gardaí are appealing to any person in Dunleer between 3am and 4am and who saw anything unusual, and to any road users with camera footage, to make contact.
"Gardaí are also appealing to any person who saw any suspicious vehicles in the Dundalk area at this time."
It was the first successful cash machine robbery in recent months after a spate across Northern Ireland and border counties earlier this year.
The PSNI established a special taskforce in February to deal with a surge in attacks.
In August more than €400,000 was recovered by gardaí following the attempted theft of an ATM in Virginia, Co Cavan.
