And finally…’dopey’ girlfriend lands ATM raider boyfriend in jail

Ellis Boyd, 26, and his co-accused, Ian Jones, 33, where part of a gang of five who had travelled up from Liverpool in a stolen Audi Q5.

On 6 March the gang fed tubing attached to a gas cylinder into the machine at a Spar store on the city’s on Clifton Road before igniting it.

After they failed to force the ATM door open they then rammed the glass door of the shop with a lottery sign before they kicked their way inside.

When police arrived they found the front of the shop and ATM were significantly damaged by the explosion.

The car was abandoned with false plates just over a quarter of a mile from the store.

CCTV footage later showed the men leaving Aberdeen by train to head down south.

However, weeks later, Boyd was back in Aberdeen in a Vauxhall Astra when his driver girlfriend signalled to police on foot patrol because she was lost. Everyone in the car was consequently detained as a result after the officers smelled cannabis in the car.

DNA found on copper piping at the end of a hose that was fed into the ATM then linked Boyd to the raid, while Jones’ DNA was found on the abandoned Audi Q5.

In June both men admitted unlawfully and maliciously causing an explosion likely to endanger life or cause serious damage.

They also admitted trying to force open the machine with intent to steal it.

Boyd was jailed for 52 months, while Jones, who has 47 previous convictions was jailed to 56 months.

The High Court in Glasgow heard that both men posed a high risk of re-offending.