A member of a gang that stole a north-east cash machine has had his bid to appeal and have his sentence slashed thrown out.
Michael Broomfield, 33, was jailed for four years and four months in June over his role as part of a gang who used a digger in the late-night smash-and-grab raid on the ATM at Scotmid Foods, Craigour Road, Torphins.
Chains were attached to the cash machine to lift it into the boot of a gold Chrysler car. But the getaway was foiled when the car broke down – and Broomfield’s fingerprints were found on the vehicle.
And the bungling would-be bandit, who had hoped to launch an appeal against the length of his sentence, has now had his bid thrown out.
He initially lodged a note of appeal in June but that application was knocked back.
Undeterred, Broomfield then requested a review of that decision, but a spokesman for the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service has now confirmed the appeal has been refused.
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Depute fiscal Sally McAuley previously told Aberdeen Sheriff Court the digger had been stolen from a building site.
She said at around 1.40am on February 28 a witness near the shop heard an alarm sounding followed by “loud banging” and male voices shouting “come on”.
Men were then seen forcing entry to the shop and attaching chains to the ATM before using the digger to lift it into the boot of the car.
The cash machine, containing £44,000, which was recovered, was later found lying in the road directly behind the abandoned Chrysler. Broomfield, a prisoner of HMP Grampian, had pled guilty to the theft of a vehicle and to breaking into Scotmid and stealing an ATM, all while acting along with others.
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