A man who stole and used credit cards swallowed by a rogue device he installed at a cash machine in Southall has been jailed.

Shehzada Nawaz, of Barra Hall Road, Hayes, had fitted the contraption to an ATM oustide Tesco Extra on the Bulls Bridge Industrial Estate, in Hayes Road, just inside the boundary of Hounslow borough.

Hounslow Police investigated after two elderly customers fell victim on December 6 and New Year's Eve last year.

On both occasions the card was accepted but an error message then flashed up and the machine would not return it.

While the cardholder reported the incident to staff inside the store, Nawaz and his accomplice Taslim Chauhan took the card and used it.

They were both arrested on March 17 after Heston and Cranford Safer Neighbourhoods Team had circulated CCTV images of the pair. When the couple's home was searched, officers discovered the mobile device used to retain the cards.

Nawaz, 31, and Chauhan, 30, of the same address, both admitted fraud by false representation, theft from a meter and possession of an item for use in fraud.

They were sentenced at Kingston Crown Court last Thursday (September 25), with Nawaz receiving a 13-month prison term and Chauhan being ordered to pay £800 in costs and compensation.

PC Anthony Dear said: "On two occasions Nawaz and Chauhan targeted vulnerable and elderly people using a particular ATM. I have no doubt that the nature of these crimes has been taken into account by the court and resulted in a custodial sentence."