2 September 2010 Last updated at 14:22 ET

Jail for man who raided Lincolnshire cash machine

A man who helped remove a cash machine using a stolen digger in Lincolnshire has been jailed for five years.

Lee Boydell, 37, of Linby Road, Barnsley, South Yorkshire, took part in the raid on the HSBC machine on Broadway in Woodhall Spa on 5 March.

He admitted burglary after helping load the ATM on to a stolen pickup truck and emptying it of £33,850 cash.

Boydell, who had 193 previous convictions, was jailed at Lincoln Crown Court on Wednesday.

Cigarette DNA

The court heard how the truck was found by chance, three weeks after the raid, when a farm outbuilding was checked out in connection with a planning application.

A discarded cigarette butt was found nearby and tested for DNA. The results linked Boydell to the crime.

Mark Watson, prosecuting, said Boydell was a "career criminal" with almost 100 previous convictions for theft.

The bank was forced to close for major repairs, leaving the village without either a bank or a cash machine. HSBC is due to reopen the bank later in September.