A Birmingham gang which stole the debit card details of motorists and ripped off their bank accounts has been jailed.

Imran Hameed and Secunder Azam copied the card numbers from dozens of motorists who shopped at a petrol station, in Alcester Road, Kings Norton, where they worked in 2003.

The details were then used to steal thousands of pounds from unsuspecting customers' bank accounts using a co-defendant Aqeel Khan's promotions business as a front, Birmingham Crown Court was told.

But the gang's greed ended up being their downfall when their attempts to rip off banks by claiming a quarter of a million pounds in refunds on their own cards alerted authorities, who blocked the transactions and launched an investigation.

Khan, of Falkland Croft, Stirchley, was jailed for three years, Hameed, from aston, was jailed for 30 months, Azam (25), from Winson Green, for two years and accomplice Iftikhar Hussain for 18 months.

In total they escaped with £16,000 from the scam in the summer of 2003 which funded a lavish spending spree.

The banks, which lost cash, intend to launch a civil action to get their money back. ..SUPL: