By Martin Walker
Police are hunting a thief who stole £1,000 from cashpoints in Newton Aycliffe.
Crimestoppers have released this CCTV image of a suspect after more than £2,000 was taken during the stealing spree – £1,000 of which was stolen in Aycliffe.
The suspect used stolen cards and pin numbers to obtain a total of £2,200 from three different accounts over a 12-hour period.
On Thursday December 22, he made a series of withdrawals on Beveridge Way in Aycliffe town centre.
He stole £200 from one account at the Halifax branch at 3.23pm, before using the same card to withdraw another £200 at the nearby Santander cash machine minutes later.
He then returned to the machine at the bank to withdraw £300 from the other two accounts a few minutes later before going on to steal more cash in other areas of the region.
Just after 4pm, the first card was used to steal £100 at the Yorkshire Bank, in High Street, Norton, near Stockton.
Shortly before 7am on Friday December 23, all three cards were used to obtain £1,100 in total at Barclays bank, in High Street, Carville, near Durham.
Police are appealing for information and have released a CCTV image of a man they want to question in relation to withdrawals.
He is described as white, in his mid-50s, 5ft 10ins to 6ft, of average build with short, greay hair and clean shaven.
He was wearing thin-framed glasses, a black Nike baseball cap, a black thigh-length coat which may have been quilted, blue jeans and black shoes or trainers.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111, or Durham Police on 101, quoting the incident number SK1200225.