The trio targeted HSBC banks

Alain was jailed for two years for his lesser part in the fraud, which was conducted on cash machines from London to Carlisle.

Manchester Crown Court heard how the three shoved pieces of plastic from the tops of bottles of mineral water into cash machines, in a variation of a scam known as the Lebanese Loop.

Prosecuting barrister Andrew Long said customers would then approach the cash machine only to find their cashcard became stuck.

It was alleged one of the three would approach the customer and advise them to type in their PIN number.

When that failed, both would walk away from the machine leaving a second member of the family to retrieve the cashcard with a knife.

Armed with both the card and the number, the gang would then withdraw cash from the unwitting customer's account.

Bank investigation

The three were arrested in July 2001 after a failed attempt to obtain a card from a machine in Manchester.

A university security guard saw them and notified the police.

Mr Long said HSBC had become a prime target for the scam after it became the first bank to offer customers the opportunity to make cash withdrawals of up to �500 a day.

A bank investigation showed the defendants were linked to about �13,000 stolen from HSBC machines captured on closed-circuit television.

All the money was refunded to customers at the bank's expense.

Outside court, Mr Fraser said: "They would travel from their home in France to Britain for a short period of time to commit these offences before travelling home with the proceeds."