A credit card fraudster and attempted car thief has been imprisoned for 13 weeks by St Albans magistrates.

Gary Jakeman, 28, was handed the sentence on Friday, April 13 after attempting to break into cars on Cottonmill Lane, where he was caught on web cameras at 6.45am on March 24.

He had also used stolen debit cards to make contactless payments for scratch cards in Kandola General Store in Oaks Cross in Stevenage on January 18.

Ch Insp Stuart Cheek said: “This is a significant sentence for low-level offending. He was caught on camera blatantly trying several car doors and left the garage block empty-handed. Jakeman is an opportunist thief who targeted insecure vehicles to find anything that was easy to steal.

“We have seen a rise in thefts from motor vehicle and suspect the real picture is even higher. We would ask all residents to ensure they lock their cars, double check it’s locked, and remove all property.”