A man has been arrested after a crane was used in an attempt to steal a cash machine from a supermarket, causing disruption to nearby train services.

Police were called to a building site in Yapton Road, Barnham, West Sussex, at 2.15am on Tuesday after a report that a small crane had been stolen.

Officers then made searches of nearby ATM sites and found a raid in progress at a Co-op store in Barnham.

A 43-year-old man, from Ashford, Middlesex, was arrested after being chased by officers on foot.

Southern Railway said its depot, which is housed in the same building, was damaged in the incident, leading to delays to some of its services.

A spokesman for the train operator said: “The Co-op is part of the same building and sits next door to the train crew depot, where train drivers and on-train colleagues collect their equipment and sign on each morning to staff Southern’s train service.”

Customer services director Jenny Saunders said: “We were forced to close the depot until 9am when a structural engineer from the council confirmed it was safe to enter.

“Until then, our crew were being organised to sign on at alternative locations wherever possible but we could only run a reduced service and there has been a lot of disruption to our customers’ journeys today, for which I apologise.

“We arranged ticket acceptance with other transport providers and we have been rebuilding the service. Regrettably, disruption due to the displacement of our colleagues and trains is expected to last into the afternoon.”

A Sussex Police spokesman said: “Police arrested a man in Barnham on Tuesday morning (July 4) after stopping an aggravated burglary in progress at a supermarket.

“Officers had been called to a building site in Yapton Road at around 2.15am to reports of a small crane having been stolen.

“Response units were deployed to nearby cash machines and came across a crane attempting to steal an ATM from a supermarket in Barnham Road.

“The driver of the crane, a 43-year-old man, from Ashford, Middlesex, was detained after a short foot chase and arrested on suspicion of theft of a motor vehicle and criminal damage.

“He remains in custody at this time.

“A white Volvo XC60 was also seen to leave the scene.”