Three Greenwich and Woolwich Arsenal ticket officers have been jailed for fraud after stealing more than £185,000.

Greenwich ticket office staff Douglas O'Dwyer, 39, of Thamesbank Place in Thamesmead was jailed for two and half years and Michael Fleming, 43, of Donaldson Road in Woolwich was jailed for one year.

Woolwich Arsenal ticket office staff John Benge, 61, of Roberts Road in Belvedere, was jailed for 10 months.

Following a British Transport Police (BTP) investigation, the Southeastern staff were found guilty of misusing ticket machines used to credit oyster cards, defrauding the railway of more than £185,000.

Other Woolwich staff Nigel Moss, 56 of Gillingham and Avtar Bains, 39, of East Ham were given suspended sentences and unpaid work.

BTP Detective Inspector Ashley Copper said: "These men took advantage of their position to steal money and tickets from the train company and customers.

"I hope the sentence will deter anyone who tries to commit fraud, and serve as a warning that BTP will do everything in its power to identify and prosecute those responsible."

A Southeastern spokesman said: "This type of incident is very rare and we have processes in place to detect fraud.

"We've worked very closely with BTP and Transport for London on this case and we are pleased this matter is now closed."

All five men were sentenced at Blackfriars Crown Court on March 30 after appealing guilty to fraud by abuse of position.