Arrests made and cash recovered following reports of parking machine thefts

Police have arrested two men and recovered £200 worth of coins following reports of thefts from parking machines in Cheltenham last night, Sunday 23 January.

Officers from the Cheltenham Local Policing Team were called to Lansdown Parade in the town at around 10.50pm after a number of parking machine thefts were reported.

It had been reported that the doors of parking machines had been forced opened and money was taken from inside.

A PC who was driving in the area saw two men, who appeared to be acting suspiciously, turn around and walk in the opposite direction.

He passed this information onto police colleagues and two men were located and detained nearby.

Police dog Dara and her handler PC Cole then searched the area where the men were first sighted and found a hidden bag containing £200 worth of coins.

Two men from London, who are aged 27 and 28, were subsequently arrested on suspicion of theft and taken into police custody.

A van which is believed to have been used by the men was also located as well as tools which are thought to have been used during the thefts.

Officers believe that this could be linked to a series of parking machine thefts in the town and anyone who has information which may help with the ongoing investigation is asked to please get in contact.

Information can be submitted online by completing the following form and quoting incident 419 of 23 January: https://www.gloucestershire.police.uk/tua/tell-us-about/cor/tell-us-about-existing-case-report/

Alternatively you can call police on 101, phone Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or visit their website: https://crimestoppers-uk.org.