POLICE are urging the public to be vigilant following distraction thefts at ATMs - which may have taken place in Warrington.

The offences involve a man approaching a person using the cash machine from behind and engaging in conversation.

The man tells the member of public that the cash machine isn’t working and tells them to press various buttons which leads them to become confused and distracted.

Cheshire Police say this leads to an opportunity to steal the bank card or money.

Offences of these nature have taken place in Helsby and Chester but officers believe similar incidents may have also taken place in Warrington and Runcorn.

One of the attempted thefts occurred at around 10.30am at a Tesco cash machine on Chester Road in Helsby yesterday, Thursday, and the other took place at around 1pm at an Asda ATM on Park Road in Chester on the same day.

Sergeant Andrew Davies, of Chester local policing unit, said: “We have received numerous reports of a man targeting vulnerable people at cash machines in an attempt to confuse and distract them by saying the ATM isn’t working in order to steal their bank card or money.

“While we review CCTV footage to identify this man I want to remind people to be aware of who may be around them, or might start engaging in conversation with them, and to report any suspicious looking behaviour.

“If you believe you may have been a victim of this type of crime and have information that could help with the investigation please report it to police.”

Information can be provided by visiting the Cheshire Constabulary website https://www.cheshire.police.uk/tell-us or by calling 101.