Excavator used to tear into Scotiabank in C.B.S.

For the third time in the past week someone has used a piece of heavy equipment to break into a business on the northeast Avalon.

Police were on the scene at the Scotiabank branch in Long Pond on Friday morning,where a John Deere excavator leanedagainst a power pole.

It appears the machine was used to tear off the canopy over the drive-through ATM area, and the boom was used to smash the wall.

The suspects did not manage to get away with theATM.

"This is absolutely nuts," said Shawn Roche, a snowplow operator who came upon the scene early this morning.

This is getting ridiculous.- Shawn Roche

On Sunday, a front-end loader was used to tear open the side of a TD Bank branch on Elizabeth Avenue in St. John's.

A day later, thieves used a backhoe to smash their way through four windows and into the plant section of the Sobeys on Kelsey Drive.

An ATM was stolen, and three men were spotted fleeing the scene of that crime.

• Windows smashed, ATM stolen by heavy equipment in St. John's 2nd time in 2 days

• Stolen backhoe used to smash into Paradise Lawtons, steal ATM

The string of robberies, combined with the ease of stealing heavy machinery, has prompted calls for contractors to take steps to prevent that from happening.

Roche agreed, and saidthey haveinstalled digital locks on their machines

"If you don't know our pin code, you can't start ourmachines, and I encourage all the other contractors to get your dealer out and do the same thing cause this has got to stop," he said. "This is getting ridiculous."

Read more from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador