Two arrested after police follow footprints from break-in... right to suspects' front door



Two alleged burglars were arrested after officers followed footprints from a cash machine that had been tampered with straight to the front door of a house a few streets away.



The suspected bungling burglars were caught out by the sudden snowfall as they tried to break into a cash machine at a village supermarket.



Responding to an intruder alarm, police arrived at the convenience store earlier this week to find the alarms blaring and a hole cut out of the metal shutters.



Caught out: Police followed these footprints leading away from the tampered with cash machine to a nearby house and arrested two men.

But two pairs of footprints were leading away from the shop across the blanket of snow that covered the car park.



Officers followed the trail straight to the front door of a house a few streets away, where two men were arrested.



CCTV cameras at the KS Convenience in Denesway, Liverpool, captured two shadowy figures taking an angle grinder to the shutter before smashing their way through the glass door, setting the intruder alarm off.



Wary: CCTV footage at the KS Convenience store showed two men attempting to break into the cash machine using an industrial saw

They then attacked the cash machine with the industrial saw but, with the fire alarms now going off too, fled empty-handed.



Dave Parry, owner of the store, said he had recently beefed up security following a terrifying armed robbery.



In October last year, four thugs had burst into the shop at 5.45pm when it was full of customers, held a machete to a security guard's throat and forced him to open the safe.



Mr Parry said: 'We upgraded all the CCTV and the alarms and they are now all linked into the police so as soon as they go off, the police know.



'They were here very quickly and I am pleased there were some arrests.



'This store was empty for two or three years and there were all sorts of petitions by residents' groups to have a retail presence here.

'Now they have one but they are in danger of losing it.

'No other retailer would want to come here. I see my customers four or five times a week and especially at this time of year, when you have to shop locally, we are vital for them.

'Most in this community are good, honest, solid people. But the minority are endangering this store for the rest of them.

'And they should be warned, if you come looking to rob this place, you will get caught.'



A 44-year-old man and a 32-year-old man, both arrested on suspicion of burglary, were bailed pending further inquiries.