News

Thousands of motorists who use a bank card to buy petrol are thought to have lost millions of pounds in an international criminal operation.

It is believed cards are being skimmed at petrol stations, where the card details and pin numbers are retrieved and money withdrawn from the account.

About 200 of the UK's 9,500 petrol stations are thought to have been hit.

The Sri Lankan government claims the rebel Tamil Tigers are to blame but police say there is no definite link.

Police are investigating complaints made in Edinburgh, Norwich, Bury St Edmunds, Peterborough, Nottingham, Leeds, Bristol and Hull.

Customers are advised to insert their bank cards themselves into the chip and pin devices and be careful no-one could see them entering their pin numbers.

Ray Holloway, from the Petrol Retailers Association, said his members had tried to tackle the problem by training staff and checking machinery.