THIEVES used a JCB-like vehicle to ramraid Manningtree Train Station on Wednesday morning, stealing a cash box.
The box was ripped out of an ATM at the station around 3am before the raiders made off with the money, abandoning the vehicle in a ditch around a mile away.
It is thought most of the cash stolen was recovered by the police.
Commuters arrived at the station this morning to find police had cordoned off the reception area.
The tractor was used to smash through the locked blue doors at the station before a chain was attached to the six-foot high cash point, dragging the cash box from the ATM.
It was discovered around a mile away overturned in a ditch on the road to East Bergholt, but it is not known if it was dumped.
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