A woman had thousands of pounds stolen from her bank account by thieves using sophisticated technology to siphon money from a cash machine.

Trish Spiller was the unknowing victim of conmen and police are advising people to be extra vigilant when using Automated Teller Machines (ATMs).

Gangs have been known to travel from London to target towns and villages in Sussex.

Mrs Spiller had £2,000 stolen after using the ATM at Nationwide Building Society, The Boulevard, Crawley.

The conmen tricked her into believing she had dropped a five pound note on the floor.

As her back was turned, one of them took her cash card out of the machine and swiped it through a hand held scanner, storing the card's details.

That meant they could create an identical card and use other cash dispensers.

Most of the money was taken out in Clapham and Wandsworth, south-west London.

When Mrs Spiller checked her account a week last Monday, she realised £250 had been taken every single day for the past eight days.

Mrs Spiller, 59, of Haversham Close, Three Bridges, said: "I didn't realise I had anything stolen until my bank said I had already taken out my maximum for the day.

"I want to warn people they should be on the lookout when using a cashpoint as you never know who is looking over your shoulder."

Mrs Spiller's bank, Co-Op, has promised to reimburse her the money once their fraud team has dealt with the case.

Chief Superintendent Mark Streater, based at Haywards Heath police station, said: "We do get a reasonable amount of criminals who come down from London targeting the Sussex area.

"They often use a disguise or false identity and target the elderly."

Chris Pascoe, chief inspector of community policing, offered some guidelines for people to use cash machines safely.

Don't keep your card and Pin number in the same place
Don't give the Pin number out to anyone else
Don't allow anyone to see your Pin number when withdrawing cash - stand as close to the machine as possible
Don't let yourself be distracted at an ATM
If your card has been retained by the machine, make sure it has not been tampered with
If you have any problems, immediately contact the police and your bank.