This is the moment a pretty law student with top marks tries to blow up an ATM in a brazen bid to steal wads of cash.

The suspect has been named as swotty 21-year-old Sofya Tsekhanovich, a fourth-year student at a prestigious law school in Russia’s cultural capital Saint Petersburg.

The bank’s CCTV footage shows a masked person, allegedly the young woman, in an ATM vestibule, where she seems to be tinkering with the machine and her mobile phone.

Tsekhanovich then pulls out a hose pipe from a large shopping bag next to her and appears to attempt to stuff it into the ATM as the footage ends.

She reportedly failed to blow up the ATM, said to contain over RUB 3 million (GBP 28,800) and left empty-handed.

The police reportedly had little difficulty in establishing the alleged burglar’s identity, which is said to have surprised them.

Police searching her flat reportedly found a set of lock picks, although it is unclear if these were used in the botched attempted burglary.

The young woman, who is reportedly from a wealthy family from Omsk, is said to have explained to the police that her boyfriend, who has not been named, is currently serving time in prison over drug-related offences and is in desperate need of money.

The authorities are currently verifying her claims. It is currently unclear if the suspect has been formally charged and what penalties she faces if she is convicted of any crimes.