British man banned from using vending machines for five years

BURY, England, April 30 (UPI) -- A British man caught stealing coins from a parking meter was banned from using vending machines or any other coin-operated devices until 2020.

Russell Stansfield, 38, of Derker, England, was caught stealing from a parking meter in Bury earlier this year and he admitted in court to committing multiple similar petty thefts on a variety of coin-operated machines.

Bury Magistrate's Court ruled this week to slap Stansfield with a Criminal Behavioral Order banning him from using coin-operated machines, including parking meters and vending machines, until February 2020.

The only exceptions to the order allow Stansfield to use a pay phone to call emergency services and use a Metrolink machine to purchase a ticket, but he must immediately move away from the machine once his ticket has been issued.

The order also banned Stansfield from any airports or airport parking lots unless he can prove he is traveling. He was also banned from Trafford Center and its parking lot.

"It's just weird if I'm honest, there are so many things I can't do," Stansfield told reporters after the order was issued. "If I'm at the hospital for hours for example I can't buy any food from the machines."

Stansfield, who apologized for his crimes and said he committed them during a "tough time," joked the order could occasionally come in handy.

"At least I have an excuse not to pay for things," he said. "I think I might be the only person in the country with this bizarre restriction, maybe even the world."