CASHPOINT crooks have struck again in Gwent after bank customers were fleeced by the high-tech skimming' or cloning' scam in Pontypool.

Among those to fall prey to the latest swindle was 41-year-old health care Helen Bayliss who lost £400 after withdrawing money from the town's Tesco supermarket.

It is not the first time the sophisticated crime, which gives criminals immediate access to customers' bank accounts, has been committed in Gwent.

Newport detectives are hunting a gang, believed to be working for an organised crime syndicate, who also targeted customers at a Tesco store.

They fleeced users at the cashpoint on Malpas Road in July.

The A fake panel is fixed over card slots at cashpoints to 'clone' bank details while a camera records the customers' pin number as they are typing it in.

A gang member just yards away with a laptop can receive the information in a matter of seconds.