Arbroath ATM leaves bank customers baffled at its height

Arbroath has provided a tall tale with a difference.

And the Tele sent its own little and large team to investigate the myth of a cash machine for giants.

An ATM (auto teller machine) has been baffling bank customers for years but the story hit social media and quickly went viral.

And so long, tall Matteo Bell and diminutive sidekick Kenny MacDonald made a visit to the seaside town to figure out the Royal Bank of Scotland mystery machine at Brothock Bridge.

Kenny struggled to see the screen, but with a bit of help from colleague Matteo and a traditional “punt up” he managed to punch in the keys.

He said: “That was the first time I had seen the ATM in Arbroath and it is really high up. It’s crazy.

“I could not see the screen properly but I am only 5ft 6in and had to stretch a bit to put my card in the slot.”

Matteo, at a towering 6ft 1in, said: “It was no bother for me, but I can see why it causes problems.

“I was able to help Kenny up, but it was a struggle as he has put on a few pounds, if you pardon the pun.”

The original viral image, which was posted to Twitter, gained almost 5,400 likes and 300 retweets, and was shared all over social media.

It shows Reece Robertson, a friend of poster Holly Girolami, attempting to use the RBS machine while on a day out in the town.

Holly said: “Utterly perplexed by this cash machine in Arbroath.

“Why is it like this? Who is this for? Reece looks like a borrower.”

https://twitter.com/hollygirolami/status/1218916691167600640

Many users saw the funny side of the lofty cash machine and one wrote: “Very little chance of someone looking over your shoulder.”

Another added: “I must see this one of a kind tourist attraction.”

The cash machine, which presents a challenge to many of the seaside town’s shorter residents, has stood for over 12 years.

Residents have long complained about the “giant’s cash machine”, as they are forced to use the one around the corner which has a ramp or inside of the RBS branch.

One customer, Bill Jarret, 77, from Arbroath, said: “It’s really awful.

“It has been here for 12 years and is just awful. I heard the bank hasn’t changed the machine because it is not their building.

“My account is here and when I come to take money out I never use the ATM outside, I just go inside where there’s one which is at the right height.”

An RBS spokesman: “We don’t want to ‘come up short’ in offering our customers access to cash. However, we recognise that in this case it’s a bit of a stretch and that’s why we offer another ATM at a lower height just around the corner.”