FOUR men, one a law student, escaped a prison sentence after a court was told they had set off on an organised and deliberate attempt to defraud supermarkets and banks, including some in Swindon.

The four had all pleaded guilty to obtaining cash with forged debit cards and appeared at Gloucester Crown Court for sentence.

Judge John Barclay told the men: "This all happened two years ago and if this case had been dealt with shortly afterwards you might all have found yourselves in custody."

At an earlier hearing at Bristol Crown Court, Assad Hussain, 22, of Kingsdown Avenue, Croydon, Vishal Verma, 23, of London Road, Thornton Heath, Asim Iqbal, aged 22, of North Borough Road, Wimbledon and Asif Hussein, aged 21, of Green Lane, Purley, pleaded guilty to obtaining money by deception.

They were all today conditionally discharged for two years.

The court was told that after attending a friend's party in Wales the men toured supermarkets in Swindon, Bath and Keynsham, near Bristol, buying low value goods with debit cards and asking for £50 cash back each time.

The men were arrested after drawing cash from a Keynsham shop.

Iqbal had £360 on him, Asif Hussein had £450 and Verma £450.

Assad Hussain had nothing but a further £450 was found in a tin in a hedge near where the men were stopped by police

Conditionally discharging the four men for 12 months Judge Barclay told them: "You have blighted your lives."