A MAN from Leigh appeared in court yesterday, Thursday, charged as part of a conspiracy gang to steal money from cash machines across the country.

Scott Pearson, of Ena Crescent, is one of eight men to have been charged with conspiring to cause explosions and burgle commercial premises following an investigation into alleged high-value cash machine attacks in England and Scotland.

The 34-year-old was arrested by Titan detectives on Tuesday as part of a joint seven-month investigation by the Titan north west regional organised crime unit and Police Scotland following 10 alleged attacks on ATMs between February 2015 and this February.

Six of the other men are from Merseyside and one is from Birmingham.

They were all remanded in custody at Liverpool City Magistrates' Court and will appear at a plea and trial preparation hearing at Liverpool Crown Court on July 28.

It is alleged that cash machine attacks took place in Reading, Cheshire, Gloucester, Thames Valley, Wiltshire, Aberdeenshire, Merseyside and Perth in Scotland.

Police say that offenders using high-powered tools such as saws cut their way through the shutters of stores containing stand-alone ATMs inside.

They added that once inside the shop offenders would wrap straps or chains around the ATM and secure them to a stolen vehicle to then drag out the machine to steal it.

Once safely away from the scene offenders would break open the ATM to get at the cash inside, police say.

In other incidents, instead of dragging out the ATM from the shop police say that offenders would instigate a small explosion within the machine itself using tubing and gas cannisters to blow it up from the inside, exposing the cash.

Investigating teams from Titan and Police Scotland say that both methods caused huge amounts of damage to the ATMs, the shop or bank they were part of, as well as putting passers-by at significant risk.

Detective Chief Superintendent Chris Green, head of Titan, said: “Titan exists to tackle criminal gangs operating beyond traditional police force borders and who pose the greatest threat and risk to our entire region.

"We have developed a really strong working relationship with our colleagues in Police Scotland and it is through this that we spotted a common methodology being used to access the cash in ATM attacks on both sides of the border.

"By working alongside our counterparts in Police Scotland for the past seven months we have been able to gather enough evidence to make arrests.”

Detective Chief Inspector Alex Dowall, from Police Scotland, said: "The arrests follow an unprecedented level of joint working between Police Scotland and Titan in what is a complex investigation involving specialist resources.

"Crimes of this nature are rare but impact on our communities and these communities can be reassured that Police Scotland will use every resource available as apart of our commitment to keeping people safe.”