Hoodlums attempted a theft of an ATM in Dunleer, Co Louth during the night.
Gardaí from Drogheda attended the scene at the Bank of Ireland which is on the Main Street in Dunleer.
The town is about 15km north of Drogheda and just two minutes from the M1 motorway. The incident occurred around 3.30am.
The scene has been preserved and investigations are ongoing. The trailer, as well as the digger, can be seen inside the garda cordoned area.
It is the latest in a series of thefts and attempted thefts of ATMs in the border region.
Declan Breathnach, a TD for Louth, said: “A continuation of ATM robberies will deprive our towns and villages of such facilities and is not helping in promoting the border region.
“Forty years of disrespect for law and order in our communities by a small number of coordinated criminal gangs should not be allowed to disrupt our lives or hamper the economy of local towns.
“There is now a real danger small villages and towns will lose their ATM machines, either through services being withdrawn or further raids due to the increase in criminal activity.”
