Man used a forged credit card

AN electrician tried to buy more than £700 worth of cigarettes and lottery scratch cards using a forged credit card.

Arburas Sabirovas, 31, went into Tesco in Hollington, St Leonards, and tried to buy £336 worth of Marlboro cigarettes using a Visa card.

But the signature he used was completely different to the one on the back of the card and the transaction was declined.

Less than two hours later Sabirovas tried again, this time at Tesco in Ravenside Retail Park in Bexhill.

He asked for £385 worth of cigarettes and scratch cards but the card was refused. He was arrested and police discovered the credit card was a forgery.

At a court hearing on Monday, Jeremy King, prosecuting, said the crimes happened on May 11 last year but it took almost a year to track down Sabirovas.

He was due to return to the police station in Hastings on June 8 last year.

Sabirovas, who lives in London, pleaded guilty to fraud and one Bail Act offence when he appeared in the dock in front of Hastings magistrates on Monday.

Lynda Kerry, defending, said: "He failed to return to the police station when he had to, and because he was back in London and not working it was expensive to travel down to Hastings.

"The defendant also lost the paperwork telling him when to return. He was spotted in London during a routine police check in London on Saturday."

Magistrates gave Sabirovas a 12-month conditional discharge and ordered to pay £85 court costs.