Criminal gangs hit parking machines stealing £300 but causing £4,500 damage

Thieves struck at four sites not covered by CCTV and stole less than £300 in total, but left Lichfield District Council with a repair bill of more than £4,500.

A meeting was held last night by the community housing and health scrutiny committee where council members discussed the future of security monitoring across the district.

John Roobottom, car parks supervisor, said that despite the machines being emptied daily, there was still a problem: "Theft from the pay and display machines on council car parks by professional gangs travelling around the country is a problem.

"The machines are emptied every day but the cost of damage to the machines carried out during these thefts is more of a problem than the amount taken."

He revealed that three machines are not covered by CCTV and have been targeted four times.

But the council would not reveal which cameras they were.

It was claimed free parking is not an option as charges are imposed to stop motorists parking all day.

Both stronger storage boxes and more CCTV will now be considered in a bid to tackle the vandalism and thefts.

The council have 108 cameras and Three Spires Shopping Centre have 21.

Greenhough Road, Shaw Lane and Bunkers Hill are not covered by CCTV and now Mr Roobottom is now calling on the council to roll out more CCTV across the district, including Burntwood.

However, Jane Irving, senior business advisor said in a report to the council, it will be 'very difficult' to find funding to provide new equipment in the future.

The current budget for the 2015/2016 year is £182,000 which breaks down to £145,000, plus £37K on costs.

Each camera is allocated a specific cost code to keep a track of any that are showing signs of age or vandalism.

There is a budget of £25,000 for any ad-hoc maintenance and the CCTV requirements of the new Friarsgate development have also been considered, including the new bus station and car park.

It is not the first time the sites have been targeted.

Damage to the machines a few years ago, resulted in somebody gluing up the machines and were later ordered to pay £600.

Last year over 1,400 people took part in the Council's Your View questionnaire over the cost of CCTV coverage, in a bid to save £20,000.

Opinion was split with 40.8 per cent agreed and 51.9 per cent disagreed, with 7.3 per cent unsure.