The first public trial of new-style Pin credit and debit cards, which are aimed at tackling soaring card fraud, will start in May.

About 80,000 people living in Northampton will be taking part in the trial - and it will eventually be rolled out to the rest of the UK by 2005.

The £1.1bn initiative is aimed at beating the growing cost of credit card fraud, which new figures reveal cost £424.6m last year.

The new-style cards will add a layer of security which will benefit both banks and consumers, as purchases will need to be verified by keying in a four-digit Personal Identification Number (Pin), rather than signing receipts.

The banks and card issuers are also introducing cards which contain chips.

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