Cold hard cash up in smoke
A man has been arrested after allegedly torching an ATM at Port Lincoln, on South Australia's coast, nine hours out of Adelaide.
The fire started just before five o'clock this morning, at the National Australia Bank ATM outside the branch on Liverpool street.
A security officer noticed the fire, and called police, who attempted to extinguish the flames.
The bank branch is just 50 metres away from the Port Lincoln police station.
Moments later fire crews arrived and were able to put the fire out.
Police later caught the offender, a 20-year-old man from Port Lincoln near the scene, who admitted to setting the ATM alight.
He has now been arrested and charged with arson, and is expected to face court at a later date.
John Wise from the Metropolitan Fire Service expects the damage bill to reach half a million dollars.
"Theres a substantial amount of damage, the structural damage is around about $100,000," he said today.
"The ATM itself is $60,000 and there’s an unknown amount of money in the ATM itself," he said.
Fire cause investigators are flying up from Adelaide to Port Lincoln to investigate the cause.
"We've got people on the roof removing iron to see how far the fire has extended through into the roof space," Mr Wise said.
