A CASHPOINT in Backwell which was destroyed in an attempted ram raid in the early hours of New Year’s Day, is due to be replaced this week.

The Times reported in January how thieves stole a car from a dealership in Station Road and, using the sound of fireworks to drown out the noise, repeatedly reversed into the 24-hour Link ATM, sited in a kiosk in Rodney Road.

The joyriders made off empty-handed but the machine was boarded up and has been out of use ever since.

Now HSBC, who installed the remote cashpoint after closing the village’s only bank in November, is to install bollards around its replacement, to stop the incident being repeated.

A spokesman said the original unit had CCTV installed in it, and the new one would be the same.

However, Avon and Somerset police said footage from the camera, and others in the area, did not reveal any information and the investigation is still on-going.

A spokesman said: “We urge anyone who saw or has any information about the incident, who did not come forward at the time, to contact Nailsea CID.”

Chairman of Backwell Parish Council, Bob Taylor, had written a letter to the bank asking for increased security measures to be introduced and if it could be replaced by a wall-mounted machine.

The owner of Taylor’s newsagents in the village had expressed concern the kiosk was a target for thieves because of a lack of lighting in the area.

The HSBC spokesman said putting the machine anywhere else in the village would involve a lengthy planning process and the bank felt its priority was to get a cashpoint back in the village as soon as possible.

Currently villagers needing to withdraw money have to use a cashpoint in the post office, which is only open during office hours, or travel to the nearest 24-hour ones in Nailsea and Yatton.