A perma-tanned couple working as parking attendants stole £37,000 from pay machines to live the high life.
Married Alan Shelton and John Riley worked in partnership over several years to open machines and squirrel away coins for luxury holidays, including to the Canary Islands.
They pair even joked about spending ’11 months of the year in the sun’ and showed off their tans in pictures plastered all over social media.
They manipulated the transaction logs to avoid discovery until two anonymous letters alerted bosses at The Mall shopping centre in Blackburn.
Preston Crown Court heard how the pair had spent £38,000 on holidays in recent years and were clearly living beyond their means.
Shelton, 57, was jailed for 36 weeks and Riley, 62, for 30 weeks.
The court heard how Shelton, who was manager of the car park, and his deputy Riley had worked at the site for 19 years.
One would open the machine while the other acted as a lookout. They both pleaded guilty to the thefts.
John Close, prosecuting, told how financial investigation officers discovered the pair, of Ashleigh Street, Darwen, had healthy bank balances.
He said: “The pair had also taken holidays totalling over £38,000 over a period of time and a wallet was found inside the home containing a number of holiday tickets.
“When asked how they could afford to live such a lifestyle Mr Riley said his father had passed away leaving them some cash.”
Victim impact statements read out in court showed how the actions of Riley and Shelton had caused a "climate of suspicion" at The Mall.
General manager Loraine Jones said: “I broke down. I felt I was penalised for something that I didn’t do and that my reputation had been shattered."
Sentencing, Judge Simon Newall said: “You have caused damage, harm and distress in the lives and emotions and in some cases the health of people you have worked with.
"You have breached their trust over a long period of time.
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“You had no other motive other than profit and personal greed – there were no exceptional circumstances.
“I do take into consideration however that both of you were men of previous good character – neither of you are young and one of you has health problems.
"You have worked your whole lives and made an effort to continue to work even in the aftermath of this but there will have to be a custodial sentence for this crime.”
Philip Holden, defending Riley, said: “We have here two men with good characters.
“My client is a hard-working and well-liked individual – the chance that he will re-offend or appear in front of a court ever again is very unlikely.”
James Hayworth, defending Shelton, said: “This man is someone who has worked throughout his life.
"He is fundamentally a decent person who has let himself and others down."
After the sentencing, senior Crown prosecutor Victoria Agullo said: “John Riley and Alan Shelton were clearly acting together to commit these offences in order to fund a lavish lifestyle, which was way beyond their means.
“When faced with the overwhelming evidence against them they were left with no other option than to plead guilty.”
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