A SHOPWORKER who stole hundreds of pounds of National Lottery money after discovering how to identify winning scratchcards was jailed for four months yesterday.

John Mazur was told by magistrates in Darlington that he had cheated the public, threatened the reputation of the National Lottery and breached his employers' trust with the scam.

The 22-year-old began checking rolls of scratchcards while working as assistant manager at Bells Store, in Corporation Road, Darlington, earlier this year.

Simon Crowder, prosecuting, told South Durham Magistrates' Court that Mazur, who pleaded guilty to theft, could identify winning tickets and then claim the cash.

He said Mazur had stolen between £400 and £1,200 over three months.

Managers began to suspect something was amiss when financial discrepancies were discovered.

Mazur, who was in line for promotion, was caught after he was secretly filmed on one of the store's security cameras.

Mr Crowder said people buying scratchcards at the store at the time of the offences could only have bought losing tickets.

"It's an offence that not only undermines the National Lottery system in itself, but members of the public who come in to buy scratchcards," he said.

The court heard Mazur, of Oakfield, Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, had gambling problems but had never been in court before. He received a police caution for shoplifting in October 1998.

Chris Bunting, mitigating, said there were "underlying problems" which led to him stealing the money.

"He fully appreciates that there are lots of losers in this case, not only himself."

Sentencing Mazur, Ruth Dent, chairman of the magistrates' bench, told him there were no mitigating factors.

"Members of the public have been cheated by winning cards being appropriated by you," she said.

Mazur was given a six-month jail term, reduced by two months for his early guilty plea.

A spokeswoman for National Lottery operator Camelot, said after the sentence: "Every scratchcard game is tested by an independent laboratory to ensure they cannot be compromised and, as a result, fraud is highly unusual.

"However, we thoroughly investigate those very few cases of attempted fraud that are reported to us."