Evacuees given hot drinks and shelter by local bakery
FAMILIES were evacuated from their homes and took refuge in Greggs when an explosion blew up a Co-operative ATM on Countisbury Avenue this morning.
Around 40 people were evacuated from the flats above the Co-op store, according to the Llanrumney Labour councillors group, after criminals used acetylene cylinders to blow up the ATM, leaving flaming debris strewn across the road.
In a statement on their Twitter page, South Wales Police thanked Greggs for offering the families temporary refuge and hot drinks while they waited to return home.
One resident who lived nearby described how the “walls shook” when the explosion went off.
“I heard what sounded like a clap or a gun. It felt like the walls shook,” said Annon Kitsce, who lives opposite the store. It was over so quickly. It felt like something very large had fallen above us.
“The next morning I saw the police tape and thought – oh somebody’s done it again. This is the third time the cash register in the Co-op has been nicked.”
Another resident, who lives on Countisbury Avenue and asked not to be named, said: “The bang woke me up. I looked outside and there was stuff on fire.
“My first thought was that a car had hit the pillar and ricocheted off the black Volkswagen Golf, which was on fire.
“There’s always something – it’s a bit lawless here. This is stuff that’s happening on the regular and the police need to stop it.”
South Wales Police said the explosion, caused by acetlylene cylinders, left “significant damage,” but that nobody was injured.
Inquiries are ongoing.
In a statement on their Facebook page, the Llanrumney Labour councillors said: “We successfully secured the installation of new state of the art CCTV cameras for this parade of shops that were installed late 2020. We shall be asking that South Wales Police review footage.”
