A police officer's idea to trap credit card fraudsters is catching on with other police services.

PC Steve Littlewood won cash from Keighley's regeneration budget and Bradford Council to pilot the project in the district.

His kit includes a thumbprint device, a counterfeit currency pen and an ultra-violet lamp, together costing only £15.

Customers are invited to use an inkless pad to give a thumbprint when they use their cards.

Shopkeepers can also scan each card with the special lamp to make sure it is genuine. Duplicate cards do not react to the light. The counterfeit currency pen reveals whether a bank note is genuine or a fake.

About 150 shops in Keighley, Haworth and Ilkley have been supplied with the kit.

PC Littlewood said: "There has only been one adverse reaction from a customer who said it was an infringement of civil liberties.

"But about seven other police services throughout the country have expressed an interest and the BBC is interested in featuring it on Crime Watch Daily."

If a cheque card is stolen, the police have a good chance of catching the culprit, especially if they have a criminal record and their fingerprints are on file, he added.

The kit was designed to cover all eventualities and he hoped that other shopkeepers would consider investing in the scheme.

He added that there was £350 million of credit fraud in the country last year and he believed this was a useful way of fighting back.

John Ramsbottom, who runs JSR Services in South Street, said he was helping pioneer the project, but felt for it to be properly effective, the thumbprint would have to be compulsory.