A ROMANIAN falsely claimed to be an “innocent abroad” and the victim of a criminal gang to avoid jail for repeated credit card “skimming” frauds, a court heard.

Travelling crook Sandu-Nicu Lacatus also tried to use his impending fatherhood to preserve his freedom – his wife is several months pregnant.

But Judge Christopher Prince spurned his pleas, saying his crimes were determined and sophisticated, and jailed the 30-year-old for two years, reducing him to tears in the dock at Durham Crown Court.

Lacatus had previously been jailed for trying to chisel a cash machine off a wall in 2009, the court heard, but had seemingly remained in the UK on his release from prison.

He belatedly admitted three “skimming” offences, at Tesco petrol stations in Bolton, Lancashire, in April and Newton Aycliffe and Durham City in May.

But that was only after denying he had been involved, even after being confronted with CCTV footage, and claiming he was an innocent abroad, the victim of a criminal gang, and his crimes were an act of kindness towards his expectant wife, the court heard.

On all three occasions, Lacatus, of Ripon Street, Newcastle, appeared on the petrol station forecourt in a blue Vauxhall Vectra in the early hours of the morning and fitted a skimming device to a petrol pump credit card payment machine.

The devices would record a victim’s card details and PIN, the court was told.

In Bolton, Lacatus returned to the forecourt 17 hours after planting the device, realised it had been spotted and removed it and ran off, Shaun Dryden, prosecuting, said.

In Newton Aycliffe, the device was discovered by an engineer, about eight hours after it was planted.

In Durham, a Tesco worker spotted the device after about five hours.

A police alert on the Vectra was issued and Lacatus was arrested driving south on the A1 near Leeds a day later, on Monday, May 19.

Simon Perkins, mitigating, said Lacatus was realistic about sentencing and its consequences, which include possible deportation, and asked the judge to keep the length of sentence to a minimum.

Judge Prince said Lacatus had hoped to receive large sums of money for the crimes and he was cynical about his mitigation.

The skimming devices have been confiscated and will be destroyed.