A Warwickshire Co-op store which was left badly damaged in a ram-raid incident on Nov 4 is ready to reopen in just 36 hours.
The Fenny Compton Co-op store in Warwickshire was ram-raided by criminals targeting its ATM in the early hours of Wednesday, November 4, causing significant damage to the premises and disruption across the village.
However, the store was ready to welcome customers back within 36 hours, following an intensive recovery effort involving replacement equipment, new ceilings and the replenishment of shelves.
Confirming the incident, Paul Strong, chief operating officer and store operations director at Heart of England Co-operative Society, said: “Yesterday morning, our Fenny Compton store was ram-raided by criminals targeting the ATM.
“Not only did this cause significant damage to the store, disrupting our colleagues and leaving our members and customers without their local shop, but the vehicle was then set alight, resulting in road closures and disruption across the village.
“Fast forward just 36 hours and what an incredible team effort! New ceilings, replacement equipment, shelves replenished and the store ready to welcome our customers back tomorrow morning!
“It's moments like these that make me incredibly proud of the teams within the society. Faced with adversity, everyone has pulled together, rolled up their sleeves and got on with the job.”
The attack took place at around 02:40 GMT on the store's High Street premises, when thieves reportedly used a telehandler to smash into the building and remove the cash machine before setting the construction vehicle alight.
The resulting fire caused an explosion, believed to have been triggered by a gas canister on the lifting machine. The incident led to road closures and damage to nearby properties.
A local resident, who lives opposite the store at Saddlers Cottage, told the BBC that the explosion had damaged his home and frightened him and his wife.
“The explosion really frightened us both,” he said, describing an “almighty explosion” that was “really a thunderous explosion”.
He added that the blast had cracked and broken all the windows in the house.
Store manager Debbie Pugh described the scene as “something out of an American movie”, saying the burning vehicle had created an “inferno of flames”.
“It was very dangerous. It was frightening because there [were] a couple of explosions due to the fuel that was obviously on board this machine,” she said.
“Words can't describe it. It's heart-breaking for me, my staff... We work so hard to provide a service for the community.”
Local residents also told the BBC that this was the second such attack on the store.