A fraudster was caught using a policeman's cheque-book thanks to a new crackdown on credit card fraud.

Jinea Butler, 29, of Hampshire Avenue, Bognor, is the first person in Sussex to be convicted following the launch of the scheme by Chichester police in June.

Customers can be asked to leave their thumbprint when they pay for goods other than in cash.

Butler went into a menswear shop in Chichester and agreed to leave her print when she used a cheque to buy clothes worth £868.

But the court heard the cheque book had been stolen from a police officer's car three months earlier.

The investigation led to Butler's thumbprint being matched and she was arrested and charged with deception.

Butler pleaded guilty at Chichester Magistrates Court and was ordered to carry out a nine-month community rehabilitation order and pay compensation.

Police say the scheme has already led to a reduction in credit card and cheque frauds because of the likelihood of being asked to leave a voluntary print.

Sergeant Steve Stickland, of Chichester police, said the successful prosecution was one of the first of its kind in the country and would serve as a warning to others.

He said: "Thumbprint was originally an American idea.

"One of our officers was over there at a big shopping complex when he saw the scheme being used.

"We contacted a company which was involved, ran a pilot and it was a real hit leading to a reduction in the number of fraudulent uses of cards and cheques."