Raiders who tried to rob an ATM machine from a bank in Co Kilkenny were foiled by gardaí early yesterday.
A stolen tractor was used by three men to prise the cash dispenser from the wall of the Bank of Ireland, Green Street, Callan, 10 miles from Kilkenny city, at 2.50 a.m.
A city-based Garda patrol car received a call from a local person to say there were men acting suspiciously near the ATM.
When the squad car arrived, the men sped off in a car, leaving the tractor behind.
The Callan incident comes 10 days after a similar incident in Co Wexford in which thieves used a digger to rip an ATM from a bank wall before making their getaway with €140,000.
A Garda spokesman said last night they were investigating a possible connection between the two incidents but it was too early to say for definite.
Gardaí in Wexford are continuing to investigate the early-morning robbery on June 28th at the Bank of Ireland branch at Rosslare Harbour and have yet to make an arrest.
The JCB digger used in the Rosslare robbery was stolen from a construction site in the adjoining townland of Trimmer, Killinick.
It was driven along the busy N25 Rosslare-Dublin Euro Route before being used to remove the ATM machine. The thieves made their getaway with the bank machine concealed in a trailer while abandoning the digger at the scene.
"We are keeping an open mind on who was responsible, and our investigations are continuing," said Sgt Mick Walsh yesterday.
Anyone with information on the Callan incident is asked to contact Kilkenny Garda station at 056-7722222.