CCTV footage has emerged from China of a man using a shovel to destroy three ATM machines in an attempt to improve his financial status.

In the footage, captured in Anhui Province last Monday, the man can be seen prodding the screens of the machines with the wooden stick of the shovel before damaging a security device on the wall.

According to news reports, the man in his forties worked at a local construction site and suffered a personal financial crisis recently. He thought he could escape after getting the cash, but the police interrupted his plan.