A rail contractor jailed for stealing around £136,000 in coins from station car parks has been told by top judges there will be no change to his jail term.

Alan James Hall (left) was jailed for four years at Maidstone Crown Court in February after he admitted the thefts over a three-year period.

Much of the money was lavished on his partner, Tracy Scott, more than 30 years his junior.

The 65-year-old, of Barleycorn, Leybourne, challenged his sentence at London’s Criminal Appeal Court, with his lawyers arguing it was too long.

But his appeal was dismissed by two of the country’s most senior judges, who said four years was “not excessive” for his crime.

Hall worked for parking contractor Meteor and was responsible for taking cash to an office in Sevenoaks, where it would be counted in a “hopper” machine before being bagged and taken to the bank.

Red-handed

Over three years, he stole about £136,000 – which was later discovered in bank accounts belonging to him and Scott.

His bosses had noted discrepancies as far back as 2008, but it was not until the following year, after installing CCTV, that Hall was caught red-handed with £263 in his car.

The judge, sitting with Mr Justice Collins, added: “Against the background of his continuing conduct, his employer had to go to significant lengths before finding out the real cause of the missing cash.”

Full story in the Malling edition of the Kent Messenger, out today