A PAY and display machine in Tavistock is the latest to have been in a spree of machine thefts across Devon and Cornwall.

Criminals stole the West Devon Borough Council-owned pay and display machine from Tavistock’s Wharf car park last week. It is the third such theft in West Devon. Last month, criminals stole a pay and display machine from Mill Road car park in Okehampton and broke into a machine in Chagford car park.

Since the summer, there has been a spate of pay and display machine thefts across the South West. Thieves have stolen a total of 34 machines.

Beginning in Cornwall, offences have since occurred in Devon across Torbay, South Hams, Teignbridge, Torridge and West Devon, with Tavistock seeing the latest criminal activity.

Devon and Cornwall Police believe offenders are using angle grinders to cut through the base to steal the machines. In many cases, this is leaving the battery, wires and sharp edges exposed, casing potential safety risks to the public.

In a bid to deter theft and minimise losses, West Devon Borough Council is proactively changing the way it runs its machines.

Cllr Robert Sampson, lead member for commercial services, said: ‘Being aware that thefts of this nature have been occurring, as a proactive council we have been emptying the machines very regularly thus our cash losses are small. We are also working on making the machines more resistant to theft.

‘However, replacing each machine costs £4,000 which we can only find by taking funds from other services. Please report any activity you consider as suspicious to Devon and Cornwall Police.’

Anyone with any information relating to the theft can inform the council by emailing [email protected] or Devon and Cornwall Police at [email protected]