Crackdown on short-selling leaves the city's 'robbers in pinstripes' facing huge losses

Ruthless City traders who made millions by sending share prices into freefall were finally the big losers.

The crackdown on 'short-selling' triggered a record-breaking rise in the FTSE index of Britain's 100 biggest public companies.

Because the short-selling traders make their money when stocks fall in price, yesterday's announcement left them with a multi-million-pound bill.

Defiant gambler: Trader Simon 'Knievel' Cawkwell

They rushed to close down all their deals in a bid to cut their losses before the market rose any further.

Short-selling involves a trader borrowing somebody else's shares in a company he thinks is going to fall in value