A COP who lost nearly £135,000 in a pensions scam has won a cash payout in a ruling that gives hope to other fraud victims.

Bosses have been ordered to refund the lost cash because they failed to give him a warning leaflet or carry out checks when he moved his savings.

The officer transferred his pot out of a police pension scheme to another fund in 2013 but it was later “lost or misappropriated”.

But in a landmark ruling by the Pensions Ombudsman, Northumbria Police have been ordered to reimburse the cash plus £1,000 for distress.

Former pensions minister Sir Steve Webb, now of Royal London, said the ruling shows pension schemes should go “the extra mile” to protect members.

He added: “Not only should they flag the risk of scams, but they should also be undertaking thorough checks about where the money is going to be transferred to.

“It might be the case that some past victims of scams who have complained to a pension scheme and been turned away could still get redress if the Ombudsman thinks that their scheme trustees did not do a proper job in protecting them.”

The officer, named only as “Mr N” in the ruling, had argued that his employers failed to provide him with sufficient warnings about pension scams or conduct adequate checks on where his money was going.

Members of pension schemes who decide to move their savings should be sent a leaflet warning them about scams.

Although Northumbria Police had included a link to the leaflet on its own internal website, it had not sent a copy of it directly to the officer before it processed his request.