Police believe thieves trying to steal an ATM in Sydney's south were spooked by watching residents and fled empty-handed.
Around three o'clock this morning residents in a unit block on Boundary Road at Mortdale woke to a loud banging noise.
Three men wearing balaclavas had driven a Suburu station wagon through security shutters and glass doors of a service station across the road.
They used the car to knock an ATM over and dragged it into a waiting van.
Residents began phoning police - the men fled the scene in a white Nissan GTR being driven by a fourth man.
Police believe the men became spooked after taking too long to retrieve the machine and after seeing residents watching them.
Forensic tests will be carried out on the Suburu today which was left at the scene.
Acting Inspector Peter Jamison says they believe the thieves were spooked and fled empty-handed.
“It took too long to gain access to the ATM thanks to the security shutters that the company had installed.”