A waiter at a Birmingham restaurant has been jailed after he “skimmed” customers’ credit cards so they could be cloned in a fraud operation. Jatinder Singh Bangar, 28, of West Bromwich, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to steal.

He has been jailed for 15 months. Ms Sarah Allen, prosecuting, said in June 2006 Bangar was with other men in a car when it was stopped by police in Solihull. Between them they had 45 cloned credit cards, many of which Bangar obtained through his job as a waiter at the Bank restaurant in Brindleyplace.

Using a small card-reading machine he skimmed credit and debit cards given to him by customers to pay their bills, and sometimes he was also able to see their pin numbers.

Mr Raglan Ashton, defending, said: “I accept, given the breach of trust, that this crosses the custody threshold, but I would ask for that sentence to be suspended.”

He told Warwick Crown Court the conspiracy had involved a “relatively limited sum of money”, about £3,500.

Mr Ashton said Bangar, of Lakeside, Hill Top, and his wife have two children aged five and four, and another due in May. “His wife is a Muslim and Mr Bangar is a Sikh,” said Mr Ashton.

“They were ostracised by their own families because of their relationship, so they have precious little family support. If he loses his liberty today she will be very much by herself.”

Since committing the offence more than 18 months ago, Bangar, who says that other people at the restaurant were also skimming cards, has sold his house to redress the debt.

But jailing Bangar, Recorder Nicholas Paines QC told him: “I am conscious of the family difficulties, but I do take the view the lowest sentence is one of immediate imprisonment.

“This type of offence is very serious. It causes worry and inconvenience to members of the public who have their cards cloned and money taken from their accounts. In addition it breached the trust placed in you by the restaurant and by the customers who handed over their credit cards.”