WOULD-BE thieves ram-raided a garage with a digger to steal a cash machine - but it was empty.

Two men attempted to dig the device out of the Total garage in Croydon Road, Beckenham in Bromley, shortly before 5am on Thursday.

Having abandoned the cash machine and digger, which is thought to have been stolen from nearby Beckenham Hospital, they fled towards Croydon in a Vauxhall.

A police spokesman said the garage manager told them the machine was empty because it was out of service.

Police believe the incident could be linked to an attempted theft of a cash machine at an Esso garage in Croydon just half-an-hour earlier.

In that incident, a car was unsuccessfully used to pull the device out with a rope.

Anyone with any information about the Beckenham incident is asked to phone Bromley police on 01689 891 212.