An excavator has been used in a failed bid to steal an ATM and cigarettes at a Thurgoona service station.
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Police were called about 4am on Tuesday after two people wearing hoodies attended the BP on Table Top Road.
Manager Srujan Bathula said the pair arrived in a ute and stole the earthmoving machine from a job site next door.
The excavator was driven to the front window and the bucket smashed through glass.
Bollards appeared to prevent the bucket from reaching the ATM machine and the would-be thieves quickly left empty handed.
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The manager said police arrived but left soon after when the ute was dumped nearby.
Debris littered Table Top road on the route where the duo appeared to have fled.
The incident caused thousands of dollars in damage, with the arm and bucket of the excavator still in the store when police arrived.
Officers stayed at the petrol station until about 9am and examined the scene, with much of the incident caught on security cameras.
Mr Bathula said he felt panicked when he was alerted to the incident through an alarm system.
"We just straight away called Triple-0," he said.
"They tried to pull out the smokes and break the ATM machine but they couldn't get a hold of it."
A police spokeswoman said the driver of the excavator had only been inside the business briefly before fleeing.
"As investigations continue, police are appealing for anyone who may have noticed anything suspicious in the area to contact Albury police or Crime Stoppers," the spokeswoman said.
No arrests had been made as of Tuesday afternoon.
