A DARWEN councillor has warned shoppers to be vigilant after falling victim to cash-card crooks.

Eileen Entwistle, of Sudell ward, made the plea after fraudsters withdrew £400 from her bank account.

They had attached a 'skimming device' on the cash machine at her local bank, which read details from the magnetic strip on her card, allowing the fraudsters to create a duplicate card and raid her account.

Coun Entwistle said: "I urge people to be aware of this terrible crime. I'm convinced this happened at a cashpoint in Darwen, and now know that it was used to withdraw money at various banks in Manchester.

"I only realised the fraud when I went to withdraw money for Christmas and was told I'd reached my daily limit. My bank, Lloyds TSB, were very helpful."

She added: "You read a lot about this sort of thing but don't think it'll happen to you. I want to make people aware these fraudsters are operating in and around Darwen."

A police spokesman said they had recorded the crime and passed the details on to the Lloyds TSB fraud branch.

He added: "We don't think Darwen is a specific target for this kind of fraud.

"However, if there is anything untoward or suspicious about a cash machine, or it looks as though it has been tampered with in any way, we would urge people to report it immediately to the bank or the police."

A bank spokesman said: "Lloyds TSB regularly inspects its own cashpoints and asks customers to report anything suspicious before using the machine."

The bank advises customers to stand close to the machine, always shield the keypad when entering a PIN and if the machine does not give the card back, report it lost immediately."