A 26-YEAR-OLD man has had his prison sentence extended by a year after he blew up a cashpoint machine at a petrol station in Evesham.
Brennan Hartrey appeared at Stafford Crown Court today where his six year prison sentence for detonating a cashpoint machine and stealing £12, 930 in cash from inside was extended.
The incident happened on July 17 2015 when Hartrey targeted the standalone cashpoint at the petrol station on Cheltenham Road.
A mixture of acetylene and oxygen gas was pumped into the machine through a small hole, which was then ignited from a short distance via a trail of petrol.
The resulting explosion blew the front off the machine and exposed the carcass and cash cassettes inside. These were then stolen and taken from the scene in a cream car.
An employee at the petrol station called the police immediately and a number of resting lorry drivers at the scene heard the incident one describing the explosion as sounding ‘like lightning hitting power lines.’
An abandoned car matching the description of the one at the scene was discovered outside a property with the remnants of the cash machine inside.
The defendant was forensically linked to items in the car and to some of the items at the scene used to cause the explosion.
Jason Corden-Bowen, District Crown Prosecutor with West Midlands Crown Prosecution Service, said: “Brendan Hartrey has carried out similar attacks on other cash machines and targeted this machine for its isolated location.
“This attack caused over £20,000 of damage and loss.
“Despite its rural setting this machine was based at a petrol station making this an astonishingly dangerous incident.
“We hope that today’s sentence acts a deterrent to others who would engage in similar reckless behaviour.”
