Police in the Australian city of Darwin released CCTV footage of a man trying to raid an Automated Teller Machine (ATM) with explosives, early yesterday morning (December 30), in the hope a member of the public might recognise the would-be thief and come forward.

The security vision shows the man, who is wearing a shirt over his face to mask his appearance, using a match to light the explosives that he had attached to the ANZ bank's ATM in the northern suburb of Winnellie.

There is a large explosion and the man is knocked off his feet.

He then tears off the shirt around his head before fleeing.

Photographs provided by Northern Territory Police, Fire and Emergency Services showed the ATM severely damaged with parts scattered on the ground.

Officers said they were still looking for the man and described his behaviour as extremely dangerous.

They added that he was lucky to have escaped a serious injury.