Security has been increased across car parks in Wycombe after a man was jailed for stealing more than £3,500 from ticket machines.

Charles Bamber, of no fixed address, was imprisoned for 10 months after a court heard he stole from machines in Wycombe District Council car parks on about 10 occasions.

The thefts earlier this year resulted in the loss of about £3,800 and caused disruption to car park users, with the majority of targeted machines significantly damaged.

WDC communications officer Simon Farr said: “We are grateful to Thames Valley Police for working with us to secure this successful prosecution.

“Not only was a substantial amount of cash stolen by Bamber, but his actions caused significant damage to the ticket machines, resulting in inconvenience for car park users as well as a large repair bill.

“We are constantly reviewing the safety operations within our car parks and, as a result of that ongoing review, we have upgraded and alarmed our ticket machines.”

Across three days in May, Bamber stole about £2,850, before taking more than £1,000 in other offences in July.