SHOPPERS in Redcar and Cleveland are being warned to wise up to a scam which could have left them out of pocket.

Customers of an east Cleveland supermarket contacted police after discovering that £50 cash-back had been added to their shopping bills.

A checkout operator had apparently been adding the amount to debit or credit card bills and pocketing the cash for some weeks and the store is now carrying out its own investigation.

Police think other people may have fallen foul of the scam and are urging shoppers to keep all receipts until they can check their accounts have been debited correctly.

Sergeant Dan Maddison, of Redcar police, said: "Customers should just be aware that this has been happening and businesses should perform periodic checks on such transactions if they do not already do so."

Anyone who thinks it may have happened to them should contact their local police station.