A DAD-of-two has warned people to beware of card-skimming gangs amid fears sophisticated scammers stole holiday money from his savings account.

Andrew Jackson, 48, of Pheasantford Street, Burnley, said he contacted his bank, Halifax, after noticing £530 had gone missing from his Web Saver account.

He said staff at the bank told him he had probably been the victim of card-skimming.

This is when criminals insert a device into an ATM which reads electronic information from people’s cards.

This can then be transferred to another plastic card and be used somewhere else.

In some cases, cameras are inserted into the machine so that pin numbers can be recorded.

Mr Jackson said the money was going to pay for a family holiday.

He said: "The bank has checked my internet banking and other accounts, and these are all fine.

“They said that it is therefore probable that my card has been skimmed.

"I have only used the card twice in the last 12 months - both times being the week before last.

“I withdrew cash from Tesco in Burnley on the Thursday and Kitchens garage on the Monday, and so I urge anyone who has used these machines to check their statements."

The card has been used twice since Mr Jackson's last withdrawals - once in Colne and another time in Mill Hill, Blackburn.

Mr Jackson has reported the incident to police and now has to wait for the bank's fraud team to get back in touch before they can take action.

He said: "It's now just a waiting game, and I don't even know whether I will get the money back.

“I was shaking this morning as everything has gone wrong, and it makes me so mad that people can do this.

“Everyone else has to earn their money honestly so why can't these people?"