HOMEOWNERS were urged yesterday to take action to foil thieves hunting through bin bags for credit card details.

Research has shown an alarming rise in people becoming victims of fraud because they fail to destroy personal information which is thrown out with the rubbish.

The contents of hundreds of domestic bins were analysed in a survey commissioned by information solutions company, Experian.

Working with Nottingham City Council and police, experts found that an average of one in every five bins contained a whole credit or debit card number which could be linked to a name and, in 80 per cent of cases, an expiry date.

Robin Davies, Harrogate Borough Council's crime reduction officer, said: "We would urge residents to make sure they don't put sensitive information like this, or indeed any other personal information, in their dustbins without first making sure it can't be read.

"Not everyone will have the use of a shredding machine, but credit card slips or statements, or your old cheque books can be torn or cut into tiny pieces and scattered throughout the rubbish."