Hourly checks are being carried out at cash machines in a Black Country town hit by card criminals.

Police are checking cashpoints in Walsall town centre for fraud devices seven days a week.

It comes after three devices were found in the last few months, with gangs from eastern Europe thought to be responsible.

Three people were jailed last year for fixing cameras to cashpoints and slipping plastic sleeves into Barclays, HSBC and Lloyds cash machines in Walsall, which would retain bank cards.

Romanian Viorel Mihut, aged 35, and Sorinel Dan, 38, travelled from their base in London to Walsall last year to commit the offences.

And Ukranian Valic Birka admitted fitting a device to an ATM at Barclays in Aldridge. Sergeant Richard Churchill, from the town centre neighbourhood team, said: “There was obviously more than one gang operating in Walsall.

“They target particular towns. The problem you have is that they can place a device on the ATM, and all they need is two or three people to use it and they will return and take it away.

“There will be a camera directly above the keypad and they will sit round the corner and Bluetooth the images to their laptop. While the ATM swallows your card, you go into the bank to get it back and they come and take the card from the device, and go and withdraw the full amount.”