POLICE and banks hope that what they believe is a unique new cash point campaign in Marlborough will help reduce the country's fastest growing crime.

Last year alone almost £40 million was creamed out of people's bank accounts by cash point crooks.

By use of either clever technical devices fixed over the card slots on the cash dispensing machines, or having people standing close by watching transactions, the crooks have been able to come by card and pin numbers.

The banks in Marlborough have been targeted on a number of occasions this year, particularly over busy bank holiday weekends.

Police believe this is because it is a tourist town where many people use the ATM cash dispensers for the first time and would not spot any changes to the appearance of the cash point machines.

Also, Chief Inspector Ian Hobbs believes, Marlborough has been picked on by crooks because its four banks are relatively close together.

The ATM con-men, Ch Insp Hobbs suggested, know that by disabling three of the bank cash dispensers they funnel customers to the only remaining bank where they have doctored the cash dispenser.

On at least two occasions that the police are aware of, card reading devices have been attached over the slot on the Barclays ATM and on one occasion a miniature camera and transmitter cleverly concealed in an aluminium strip fixed over the pin number pad.

Working together with the town's four banks Barclays, NatWest, Lloyds and HSBC the police and Kennet Community Safety Partnership have come up with a pioneering scheme to reduce ATM crime.

Sgt Steve McGrath has been the leading light behind the partnership talks that have resulted in unique posters that have been erected next to the ATMs at all the banks in the town.

Individual posters for each bank show detailed photographs of the cash dispensers so that users can spot at a glance if any physical changes have been made or any attachments fastened to the machines.

The posters carry the very clear message: "If this cash machine does not look like this DO NOT USE IT..inform the bank or the police."

Former Mayor Bill Cavill said Marlborough remained open to cashpoint skimmers and other crooks because it was one of the few towns with no CCTV system.

"We certainly need CCTV to deter this and other sorts of crime in the town," he said.