A FRUIT machine thief caught with more than 15lbs of pound coins in his trouser pocket has been jailed.

Thomas Wheatcroft, who has a long record of stealing from gaming machines, was stopped by police in Richmond Hill, Bournemouth on March 28 last year.

When he was searched, officers discovered £736 in pound coins in his jeans and £575 in cash in his pockets, as well as two electronic devices they later discovered were used to send false signals to gaming machines.

Wheatcroft had been on a night out at The Inferno in Holdenhurst Road with his nephew, 29-year-old Charlie Shaw, and a friend before his arrest.

The three had gathered closely around a fruit machine owned by Regal Gaming and Leisure for around half an hour before leaving.

The bar's assistant manager had then received a call from a Regal representative, who said several fraud alerts generated by the machine had been received.

In total, £289 was stolen from the device.

Andy Houston, prosecuting at Bournemouth Crown Court on Friday, made an application for all the money found in Wheatcroft's jeans at the time of his arrest to be forfeited - and quipped: "Goodness knows how his trousers were able to stand it."

Lucy Conroy, mitigating for Wheatcroft, said she was unable to oppose the application, but added that the £575 was earned legitimately through the defendant's job as a painter and decorator.

"[Wheatcroft] has deep-seated issues to do with gambling," she said.

Shaw was arrested in possession of a third electronic device used to jam the wireless signal to the machine.

He admitted theft and going equipped for theft. He did not enter pleas to a third charge of possessing criminal property, and the accusation was dropped.

He was sentenced to 12 weeks in prison suspended for 12 months, and ordered to participate in 19 rehabilitation activity requirement sessions.

Wheatcroft, 37, admitted theft, going equipped for theft and possessing criminal property. He also asked for a further theft at Leigh Delamere services in Wiltshire to be taken into account.

He was sentenced to 15 months in prison.

The defendants, both of Portsmouth, were sent to prison in 2010 for similar offending.

They were part of a gang of seven men jailed for the theft and laundering of tens of thousands of £1 coins.

The group travelled all over the country – from Wetherby in Yorkshire to Taunton in Somerset – to steal £500 jackpots from gaming machines in service stations, pubs and at Gatwick Airport.