A SECURITY man has been jailed for stealing almost £130,000 in coins from parking meters.

Bryn Lynas, 47, whose job was to empty meters for the council, was caught with hundreds of pounds in his car after he raided the machines for two years.

Lynas worked for Group 4 Securicor Cash Services when an audit revealed that tens of thousands of pounds was missing from emptied meters in the Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council area.

He was arrested at his works depot in Thornaby-on-Tees and he immediately confessed to taking the money, prosecutor Brian Hurst told Teesside Crown Court today.

A film was shown in court from a spy camera hidden in Lynas's van which showed him forcing open cash boxes with a screwdriver and taking the money.

His partner Susan Shaw, also 47, was arrested for receiving £23,655 from him but charges were later dropped.

The couple lived an extravagant lifestyle with three cars, a new Fiat Punto, a Renault Megane and a Mini with Union flag door panels.

Lynas claimed that he threw some of the money away out of guilt, said David Lamb defending.

Mr Lamb said: "It was unsophisticated stealing using a screwdriver, and he did not put anyone else under suspicion."

Lynas, of Alderwood Close, Ormesby, Middlesbrough, was jailed for 21 months after he pleaded guilty to stealing £128,301, between January 2004 and May last year, and also to money laundering.