Thefts and loitering are among the 133 incidents involving cash machines in Chester reported to Cheshire police over the past three years.

The force recorded 51 reports relating to such incidents last year - four more than the previous year - figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act reveal.

Some of the reports included theft, like the theft of a debit card or PIN number from a machine on Lightfoot Street in June 2014 and a theft from an ATM on the Parade in Blacon.

In September 2013, someone reported a skimming device – which are disguised as part of ATMs and designed to copy sensitive personal date – at a machine in Elton.

One member of the public called in to say they had seen someone stealing cash from a machine on Eastgate Street last November.

Other calls informed officers of criminal damage, including of an ATM on Frodsham Street in September 2014.

Not all of these incidents will have been classed as crimes.

One of the more minor-sounding incidents include a report of three men ‘loitering outside’ a cash machine on Brook Street back in August 2012.

The Chronicle featured reports of cash point fraud in Ellesmere Port in June, when Det Insp Karen Jaundrill, of Cheshire Constabulary’s economic crime unit, advised readers to be vigilant and aware of suspicious activity when using ATMS.

If you have been a victim of cash machine fraud or want to report any suspicious activity, call police on 101.