"Like something out of a fairy tale"
Luckily for Joanne and Darren (they're from Essex, right?), the judge was pretty lenient.Joanne Jones discovered that the cash machine paid out even though she was more than £1,000 overdrawn and the withdrawals did not appear on her HSBC statement. The couple made continuous visits, taking £1,250 in five minutes one day and £2,400 in 10 minutes on another. Jackson said the fault arose owing to the machine being very old, and that "very few" other people benefited from the free payouts because "a majority of people in Billericay were not overdrawn."
When questioned, Joanne Jones admitted the crime and said she was surprised they had taken as much as £61,400. Her husband said it was the bank's fault.
Judge Christopher Mitchell told them: "It's like something out of a fairy tale, put a bit of plastic in the wall and free money comes tumbling out and there is no record on their bank account."
