CHRISTMAS came early for shoppers at a Hampshire supermarket after a cash machine started paying double.

Customers expecting to receive a handful of tenners could hardly believe their luck when the hole-in-the-wall dispenser dished out £20 notes by mistake.

News of the windfall spread like wildfire as people used their mobile phones to tell friends about the bumper pay-outs.

Dozens of shoppers lined up outside the Safeway supermarket at Stanford Hill, Lymington, to cash in on a unique opportunity to double their money.

The queue grew to about 60 people as shoppers leaving the store heard about the device that was playing Santa. Some returned to the dispenser several times, with those reaching their £200 cash limit netting an extra £200.

The celebrations continued until police arrived to disperse the crowd and inform the machine's owner, Abbey National.

Now Abbey National staff are hoping customers will be honest enough to repay the money to which they are not entitled.

"Customers were going up to the dispenser time and again. It was as if Christmas had come early."

Abbey National spokeswoman Nell Cozens said the machine had been incorrectly loaded by Securicor.

She added: "We know which customers used the dispenser, but we won't be instructing them to return the money they received by mistake. Securicor were responsible for loading the machine and we assume that they'll foot the bill."

Ms Cozens said Abbey National staff were still trying to discover how much cash had been paid out in error.

She added: "We can only speculate on how people will spend the money, but given the time of year they will probably buy a few extra bottles of wine. We won't be pursuing them for the cash, although it would be nice if they gave it back."

Securicor said: "We take all matters relating to the quality of our ATM services extremely seriously. We are investigating at present."