A grandfather last night hit out at the “lenient” sentencing of a gang of thieves who snatched his bank card in a city centre pub.

The three were jailed after withdrawing £2,100 from cash machines and banks in Oxfordshire and High Wycombe.

All three men were jailed for 15 months after admitting taking 66-year-old Bryan Price’s wallet as he ate at the Four Candles in George Street, Oxford, on January 24 this year.

At Blackfriars Crown Court in London on Friday, 46-year-old Andrew Flaherty, of Imperial Way, Chislehurst, and 47-year-old Robert Sutton, of Belmont Road, Norwood Junction, were both given four concurrent 15-month sentences for theft and fraud charges relating to the theft of Mr Price’s wallet. Their associate 59-year-old Norman Maclean, of Pear Tree Walk, Sittingbourne, was given three concurrent 15-month sentences for theft and fraud charges.

Mr Price, of Aldrich Road, Cutteslowe, Oxford, said he had hoped the criminal gang would be sentenced for longer.

He said: “That’s a big disappointment, I’m sure the police will be disappointed.

“I don’t know why the courts are so lenient with these people – I don’t think they realise the hardship they cause.”

The thieves withdrew £300 from a cash machine at Oxford Railway Station, £900 from the counter at Barclays in Cornmarket, and another £900 from the counter at Barclays in High Wycombe, within two hours of the theft.

The 66-year-old’s wallet was recovered – but its contents, including Rolling Stones legend Bill Wyman’s autograph, was not.

Pc Steve Higa said: “Most crimes we solve are generally witnessed by people, but this crime was not witnessed.

“The only thing witnessing this crime was the CCTV cameras. If it wasn’t for CCTV cameras in four different places and an automatic number plate recognition system we would not have caught these chaps.”

The gang stopped at the BP garage in Woodstock Road to check the balance in the account and make sure the card hadn’t been cancelled – tipping police off to their criminal activity.

Mr Price was reimbursed by his bank, and said he was grateful to police for their efforts in tracking down the crooks, but added: “The experience has made me really aware of what people are capable of in stealing property.

“I’m always really careful with documents, I always burn them and shred them.”