An "opportunist thief" from Ely who used stolen bank cards to buy scratch cards has been jailed.

Paul Meads, 53, took a sports bag from a vehicle parked on Lynn Road, which contained the victims’ bank cards on August 6 last year.

The victim discovered it was Meads who had taken the bag and called police.

An investigation revealed CCTV images of Meads visiting a nearby shop to buy scratch cards.

Officers searched his home in Lynn Road, Ely where they found seven scratch cards underneath his mattress.

Meads appeared at Cambridge Magistrates’ Court on Thursday April 15, where he was sentenced to eight weeks in prison, after previously pleading guilty to possessing an article for use in fraud and handling stolen goods.

PC Annabel Smart said: “Meads is an opportunist thief who went on to fraudulently use his victim’s bank cards and attempt to hide his wrong-doing.”

The sentencing comes after Meads appeared in court in March for stealing seven packets of chicken from a a Co-op.

At the time, the hearing was told that he was on licence from prison, having been released on January 21.