A THIEF who pretended to ask for directions to steal credit cards at two Oxfordshire supermarkets has been jailed.

Florin Raducanu watched two retired shoppers enter their PINs at Tesco in Abingdon and Sainsbury’s in Banbury before stealing their cards and using them to withdraw cash.

He admitted two counts of theft and three fraud charges at Oxford Crown Court on Friday and was jailed for nine months.

Describing the first offence in Banbury on October 15, Matthew Walsh, prosecuting, said Vera White remembers “feeling somebody close behind her” as she paid for her shopping, and she was then followed to her home by Raducanu.

Mr Walsh said: “She was unloading her shopping when she was approached by this man, and another, and there was a primitive distraction technique used.

“They had a map and asked for directions to Luton.”

While helping with directions, Mrs White’s handbag and credit card were taken from her car and £250 cash was withdrawn.

On February 15, Susan Pope was shopping at Tesco in Abingdon when 24-year-old Raducanu, from Ilford, Essex, approached her in the car park and used the same technique, before withdrawing £200.

Dhaneshwar Sharma, defending, said his client had come to Britain from Romania with his partner eight months ago and the pair both worked as cleaners before turning to crime when work dried up.

He said: “He’s extremely remorseful and sorry.”