Four arrested over parking machine break-ins

By Ben Fitzgerald - 1 February 2018

Crime

Officers have arrested four local men following a series of parking machine break-ins in the Swindon area.

Since 14 January 2018, a number of machines have been broken into across the borough, including a number at Lydiard Park, Coate Water, in Old Town and the town centre;  it's believed the same gang have been targeting these machines.

Officers were alerted to the break-in of a machine at the County Ground in the early hours of the morning.  They arrived to find four men in a vehicle along with a cash box, containing cash, and some tools.

All four were arrested at the scene on suspicion of theft; two of the men are aged 20-years-old, one is 19 and the other 31.  All four have now been released under investigation.

Sergeant Nigel Kinderman said: "Following on from some good intelligence work, community policing team officers managed to catch these men almost immediately after they had broken in to this parking machine.

"Swindon Borough Council has taken additional steps to deter thieves from breaking into parking machines by using CCTV in the car parks, changing the times that the machines are emptied and undertaking regular security patrols.

"We also appeal to members of the public to help us, if they see anyone acting suspiciously around a parking machine please contact us on 101, if you actually see someone attacking it - call 999 immediately."

Your Comments

Be the first to comment on this article

Login or Register to post a comment on this article

Subscribe to The Link

Registered in England & Wales. No: 4513027, Positive Media Group, Old Bank House, 5 Devizes Road, Old Town, Swindon, SN1 4BJ