A COUPLE at the centre of a £50,000 credit card fraud have been jailed.

Anthony Uche, 30, and Heidi Flannigan, 30, admitted their parts in a scam which involved using credit card numbers taken from a stolen till roll to purchase goods from mail order catalogues.

Newcastle Crown Court heard that the till roll was taken from Asda in Boldon Colliery in January this year.

The court heard how more than 500 different credit card numbers used to purchase goods from the store were taken and used to buy goods.

Some of the purchases were found at the homes of Rubia Uddin, 27, and Jolene Sorenson, 25, at Ashgrove Avenue in South Shields.

The court heard that the scam was uncovered after a police operation.

Officers linked goods found at Ashgrove Avenue, and Flannigan and Uche's home in Lord Nelson Street in the town, to the credit cards.

Prosecutor John Evans said: "Police, as a result of painstaking inquiry, were able to match property with till roll receipts, documentation and the credit cards that had been used.

"That took police to the homes of all of those whose credit cards had unwittingly been used and therefore to compile the case against the defendants."

Flannigan was jailed for 12 months after admitting theft, obtaining property by deception and attempting to obtain property by deception.

Uche was jailed for 18 months after admitting theft, obtaining by deception, attempting to obtain by deception and handling stolen goods.

Uddin was sentenced to a 12 months community rehabilitation order after admitting obtaining property by deception.

Sorrenson was sentenced to an 80 hour community punshment order after admitting obtaining property by deception.