A GARDEN centre business is removing cash machines from all its premises after thieves smashed their way into three of their sites.
Yorkshire Garden Centres - which has businesses in Otley, Harden, near Bingley, and Tong - posted photos on social media of the damage caused when thieves tried to get at the cash dispensers inside three of its sites in overnight raids over the last few months.
Although the machines are emptied of cash daily the company has announced it is removing all cash machines from its sites due to "serious safety concerns" caused by the raids which have "placed a significant burden on our team, who have had to respond to these emergencies during unsociable hours."
Yorkshire Garden Centres announced its decision in a statement on their Facebook page on Monday saying: "In the last few months, we’ve suffered overnight break ins at three of our centres. In each case, our cash machines have been the target. This has occurred despite clear signage indicating that the machines are emptied daily.
"These incidents have raised serious safety concerns and placed a significant burden on our team, who have had to respond to these emergencies during unsociable hours.
"As a result, we have made the difficult decision to remove all cash machines from our garden centres. We understand that this service is valued by many of our customers, and we sincerely regret any inconvenience this may cause. However, we hope you will understand and support our decision, which has been made with the safety and wellbeing of our staff and centres in mind."
The company's customer notice on Facebook does not specify which sites have been broken into and when. We have contacted Yorkshire Garden Centres for further comment.
Yorkshire Garden Centres is independently owned with seven garden centres in Yorkshire. The Yorkshire Garden Centres group comprises Tong, Tingley, Otley and Bingley Garden Centres, plus Dean's York and Scarborough and the recently acquired Pennine Garden Centre in Huddersfield.
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