Hunt for card skim gang

An international criminal gang is thought to have been behind the attempt to fit a skimming device to a Cannock town centre cash machine.

A major operation stretching across the UK has been launched to find the gang who forced a school to be evacuated and armed officers to sweep the town centre supported by a police helicopter on Friday.

Sources close to the investigation have reve-aled to the Express & Star that the men involved are thought to be Romanian and operating from London.

At least one of the gang of three is understood to be wanted by police in Norway for similar crimes.

Card skimming involves criminals electronically copying the data from a cash cards magnetic strip and making a new fake card with the same details.

The drama on Friday began when a gang of men were involved in a struggle with a member of the public who had discovered a cash card skimming device on the front of the cash machine at Nationwide Building Society in Market Place.

Cannock's chief police Inspector Matt Derrick spotted the commotion at around 1.15pm while on his lunch break and gave chase down Wolverhampton Road, where he was helped by a member of the public.

The unknown criminal turned to face the officer and pulled out a bladed weapon threatening Insp Derrick and swearing at him to go away.

Three other men fled in a silver BMW which was followed by police towards Chase Academy, in St John's Road. The school was then evacuated but nobody was found.Police have since recovered a skimming device and pinhole camera from the Nationwide cash machine.

A man was arrested at Cannock Railway Station later.

He appeared at Cannock Magistrates Court today and was remanded in custody.

By Shaun Lintern