Rayleigh parking machine 'cascades' money to driver
A driver who was trying to pay to park got a surprise £32 "windfall" when the ticket machine "cascaded" coins at her like a fruit machine jackpot payout.
Stephanie Corder, from Rayleigh, Essex, was in the town's Castle Road, where it costs £5 to park a car for a whole day.
"I had to scoop the money up to stop it falling on the floor," Ms Corder said.
She took the cash to the police and Rochford District Council has rewarded her with a day's free parking as a "little thank you" for her honesty.
Parking in the Castle Road car park ranges in price from 50p for half-an-hour to £5 for a whole day, according to the council's website.
'Great big thanks'
"I went to pay for my parking but the coin didn't register properly so I pushed the return button to get it out and try another and a whole cascade of coins poured out," Ms Corder told BBC Essex.
"There was so much I had to keep taking it out and put in in my pocket - it just kept coming out - a bloke behind me said 'you want to go and play the machines'.
"He said I should keep it, but I couldn't do that - it wasn't my money so I just walked around to the police station.
"The lady in there was a bit astonished as well."
Mike Steptoe, from the district council, said an "unusual technical fault was to blame" for the mini-windfall, but it was "resolved very quickly".
We have to say "a great big thanks" to Ms Corder for "being so honest", he said.