Railway station ticket machine damaged beyond repair by thieves (From Bromsgrove Advertiser)

Railway station ticket machine damaged beyond repair by thieves

3:30pm Wednesday 11th January 2012 in News

DAMAGE of £30,000 has been caused to a ticket machine on a platform at a Bromsgrove Railway Station.

And the damage which was caused to the machine at Barnt Green Railway Station at around 12.30pm on January 4, has left it in an unrepairable state.

The damage to the machine was spotted by the driver of a Redditch bound train.

The police were called and found the machine had been damaged, in what appeared to be an attempted theft of the money inside.

But the offenders would have left empty handed as there was no money in the machine at the time of the attempted theft.

The incident is being investigated by British Transport Police who recovered four gas cylinders, one red and blue, one black and purple, a third red and pink and the fourth is purple and green, which they believe may be connected.

The four cylinders are undergoing forensic tests.

Detective Sergeant Shanie Erwin, one of the investigating officers, said: “We believe those responsible used a gas-powered oxy-acetylene torch to gain access to the inside of the machine.

“At this stage, it is unclear where these cylinders have come from so I am appealing for any individual or any business that has had any such items stolen recently, to come forward.

“I would also like to appeal to anyone who saw anyone who would not normally have access to such cylinders, or who spotted anyone acting in suspicious circumstances with gas cylinders like the ones in these photos, to please contact British Transport Police.”

Officers are also looking into reports of suspicious activity in Shepley Road, Rednal, shortly after the incident at Barnt Green, and have recovered a vehicle they believe may be linked to the incident.

Anyone with information is asked to call 0800 40 50 40 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.