Rewards of up to £1,000 have been offered to catch people who are damaging parking meters.

Croydon Council has teamed up with Crimestoppers to clamp down on the vandals who are damaging the machines.

According to Crimestoppers, the council has dealt with numerous incidents of criminal damage which are putting the meters out of order.

They say the damage is leading to huge costs to the council and disrupting motorists who are unable to park there legally.

Croydon Council is now asking residents to be vigilant and report any suspicious activity.

A reward up to £1000 is on offer to those who give information to Crimestoppers which leads to a prosecution and conviction.

Councillor Simon Hoar, cabinet member for community safety and public protection, said: “We’re delighted to be working with Crimestoppers to make it as easy as possible for people to report damage or theft from these machines.

A quick call is all it takes to give us the information needed to identify and catch the criminals who are responsible.”

Regan Hook, Crimestoppers’ London campaigns manager, said: “It may seem like a victimless crime, but these attacks affect the motorist who ends up losing their parking fee, and searching for an alternative machine to secure a pay-and-display ticket, only to find the next machine has also been attacked, meaning they lose further money and time.

“Innocent members of the public should not have to pay for the selfish criminal actions of a few.”

“We are urging the public to tell us, anonymously, what they know by contacting the charity. No personal information is taken and your identity will never be revealed.”

“Calls are not traced or recorded, and you will not have to go to court or give a statement to the police.

In the 26 years that Crimestoppers has been running, we have never broken our promise of anonymity.”

Anyone with information should call 0800555111 or go to crimestoppers-uk.org.

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