THIEVES who tried to break into a parking meter by ramming it with their car were left with nothing but a broken window and a damaged door.

The gang of three were trying to crack the meter at the Castle Harvester in High Road Woodford Green at around 5am last Thursday (May 24).

Despite hitting it at speed in their red Vauxhall, the machine would not budge.

After several attempts, one of the gang got out of the car and started kicking the meter, but to no avail.

After a few minutes, they gave up and drove off in their battered vehicle.

Ryan Jackson, Director of Gemini Parking Solutions, the company which provides and manages the meter, said: “This is the second time thieves have attempted to break into this machine in the last 12 months.

“But it’s like a mini safe and they were facing mission impossible really.

“It needs a bit of straightening up, but it’s still in good shape, which is more than can be said for these guys' car.”

The incident was captured on CCTV but police say the images are not clear enough to identify the vehicle or the suspects.

Anyone with any information on the incident should call ADS Michael Lai of Redbridge CID on 020 8345 1626.

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