A 28-YEAR-OLD who used a blow torch to try stealing cash from eight DLR ticket machines has been jailed for 16 months.

Tomas Kemeklis targeted machines at Elverson Road and Deptford Bridge during a September spree which saw him rack up £16,000 worth of damage.

On each occasion he used a blow torch to get inside before pocketing any cash he could find.

He was finally caught on September 25 at around 2.40am as he tampered with a machine at Tower Gateway.

Kemeklis, from Newham, was sentenced at Snaresbrook Crown Court on October 17 after admitting three counts of attempted theft and five counts of theft.

Chief Superintendent Paul Brogden of British Transport Police, said: "Our officers gathered a large collection of CCTV footage putting Tomas Kemeklis at the scenes of the crimes and when faced with all this evidence he had no option but to plead guilty."