Two men who were arrested in Bristol after conspiring to steal more than £30,000 by skimming cash machines for Russian gangsters have been jailed for a total of 42 months.

Florin Lepsa and Gheoghita Sandu had stolen more than 1,000 bank card details when they were caught tampering with a cash machine outside Asda-Walmart at Cribbs Causeway.

The fraudsters were then tracked to the nearby Morrisons store and arrested.

Lepsa, aged 31, a Romanian of no fixed abode, and who was said to have made frequent trips to the UK, admitted a charge of conspiracy to steal and was jailed for 30 months.

Sandu, aged 31, who is also from Romania and of no fixed abode, admitted a single charge of conspiracy to steal and was jailed for 12 months.

James Townsend, prosecuting at Bristol Crown Court, told how the pair had been involved in a sophisticated fraud involving the use of complex technology to skim bank card details of customers at automatic till machines.

He said: "This fraud involves the use of a large number of cards, 1,011 were identified during the course of the investigation, and the obtaining of cash using those cards of an amount that's at least £30,000 and probably higher."

He said card details were taken from cash machines around the country from May but the fraud came to light in Bristol on June 13 this year.

"These matters came to light when these two defendants were arrested, having been involved in the tampering of an ATM at Asda at The Mall in Bristol.

"They were seen doing so and traced to the Morrisons store nearby, which also had ATM machines.

"They were stopped. Lepsa ran off and attempted to dispose of plates relating to false fronts in a pond that were subsequently recovered," said Mr Townsend.

However, he said they were arrested and a car they had used was found containing a laptop computer with details of 1,011 cards traceable to cash machines and loaded with software to clone cards, as well as items linked to the false fronts.

Ignatius Hughes, defending Lepsa, who has a previous conviction for a similar offence, said the defendant pleaded guilty on the basis that he had been a foot soldier for Russian gangsters.

He said his client was from a Romanian orphanage and was not sophisticated.

"The fact is that my client has become embroiled with heavy gangsters who run these things," said Mr Hughes.

David Martin, defending Sandu, who is of previous good character, told the court his client played a lesser role and had helped Lepsa by shielding the cash machines from view while the false fronts were being installed.

Jailing Lepsa for 30 months, Judge James Tabor QC said: "You have submitted a basis of plea which suggests you were under the influence of others, some Russians who made you do this.

"I accept that you were not the brains behind this operation but this was a highly sophisticated conspiracy that had been running for some time.

"You had been highly active in it, travelling around the country installing this equipment, using others including your co-defendant as back-up and a shield to your actions.

"Sadly, this type of fraud remains very prevalent and it appears to be committed by persons from Eastern Europe.

"If people from Eastern Europe come over and commit this fraud, they have got to know they are going to prison.

"Over 1,011 cards were compromised."

Jailing Sandu for 12 months, Judge Tabor continued: "Your involvement in this fraud appears to have only been for about a week, further more I suspect that you are very much at the bottom end of criminality."

Both defendants were told they would be recommended to the Home Secretary for deportation after they had served their terms.

Judge Tabor also ordered that £1,000 in cash seized by police from the defendants would be paid in compensation to Lloyds Bank, which was said to have lost more than £20,000 during the fraud.