A 28-year-old Plaistow man has been jailed for 17 months for a series of frauds and thefts from cash machines.

Cosmin Dogaru, of Kingsland Road, was arrested by police in February this year after reported thefts from cashpoints at Barclays in Hayes.

CCTV showed Dogaru approaching the cash machine Station Approach and fitting a ‘Lebanese loop’ to it before unsuspecting victims attempted to withdraw money.

The loop trapped the cards in the machine and when the victims left, Dogaru approached and retrieved the bank card and used it to withdrew money from the victim’s account. At Croydon Crown Court, he admitted five counts of theft and two counts of dishonestly making false representation in Hayes, Bromley and the City.

His sentence will be served concurrently with a 17-month jail term imposed at the Old Bailey for possessing articles for the use in fraud and attempted theft.