A MONTH after thieves used gas to blow open a cash machine in Darlington, police have appealed again for information.

Criminals targeted the cash machine, outside a Matalan store on Neasham Road, in the middle of the night in October, with the explosion heard two miles away.

Debris from the Co-op machine was spread over a 50 ft area of the car park around the store.

Darlington Police said after an investigation they believed the blast was caused by gas which was deliberately ignited, while reassuring residents it was a targeted and isolated incident.

Now, a month on, police are again asking for information as they said inquiries into the incident were ongoing.

A Durham Constabulary spokeswoman said: “We’d like to re-appeal to anyone who was in the area at the time of the incident, or has any information that may help with the investigation, to call us on 101, quoting incident number 20 of October 26.

The explosion started local residents, who reportedly crowded around the area at 1.30am to see what had happened.

It is understood a car was seen leaving the area around the time of the incident.

Residents reported their houses shook following the attack on the standalone ATM, which was ‘obliterated’ in the incident.