SEVEN men have been charged in connection with the theft of ATM machines across four counties.

Shane Stanley, 36, Tommy Mitchell, 18, Walter Mitchell, 41, Levi Mitchell, 24, William Mitchell, 30, Walter Mitchell, 20, all of Fern Hill Lane, Harlow, and Scott McManus, 43, of Chapelfields, Stanstead Abbotts, have been charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit burglary and one count of conspiracy to steal vehicles.

They have all been remanded to appear at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court today, Thursday, March 7.

The charges follow warrants in Brentwood, Harlow and Stansted Abbots at around 6.30am on Tuesday, March 5, and relate to the theft of ten ATM machines in Essex Hertfordshire, Kent and Surrey and more 100 investigations.

A 17-year-old boy and two boys, aged 15, all from Harlow, arrested on suspicion of handling stolen goods, theft of a motor vehicle and burglary have been released under investigation.