Security boss admits meter theft

Johnson would empty the meters at the Royal Liverpool Hospital car park

A hospital security boss has admitted raiding disabled parking meters and stealing at least £3,000 to pay off his debts.

Alan Johnson, 39, stole cash from the disabled car park at Royal Liverpool Hospital over a period of two years, the city's crown court heard.

Johnson, of Cobham Avenue, Orrell Park, Liverpool, was caught with £332 of coins in his pockets and his car.

He was given a 40-week prison sentence, suspended for two years.

Pauline Smith, the NHS's operational fraud manager for the north west, told the BBC fraud teams had "staked" the pay meters out after they noticed a lack of cash going through the machines.

She said: "The disabled car park was always full, but the amount of money being collected and processed was a lot less than expected.

We welcome the sentence given today which shows we will not, and do not, tolerate fraud in the NHS Royal Liverpool Hospital

"It was then we started to investigate.

"Johnson was taking the money out, sometimes he would pay the money into the cash desk, other times he would just pocket it.

"We apprehended him in September last year. We found him with a substantial amount of cash, £332, and he admitted stealing it."

Johnson pleaded guilty to stealing £3,000 between April 2006 and March 2008 and to another theft of £332.40 in September 2008.

A spokeswoman for The Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals Trust, said: "We welcome the sentence given today which shows we will not, and do not, tolerate fraud in the NHS."