The incident in Brighton should be a major warning to road users with the local council warning drivers to “be aware” when parking. Bahawodin Baha was approached in the car park by a man who was unable to buy a ticket for himself and did not speak English.

They urged road users to report any similar incidents for further investigation.

They said: “We’ve been made aware of a scam performed at one of our Pay & Display machines.

“A bank card was stolen after thieves asked the owner to help them pay for a ticket.

“Please be aware and if this has happened to you, report it to Sussex Police.”

Drivers have been urged to enter their card details in front of people and said drivers should always conceal their card as best they can.

The scam comes just months after Richmond Council issued a warning over a similar parking fraud which swallowed drivers cards.

Speaking to Express.co.uk after the incident, Peter O’Driscoll, CEO of RingGo warned machines can be broken into.

He said: “We tend to pick things up from the operators themselves.

“They have either had the machine broken into and someone’s defrauded the council.

“For example cutting a hole inside of the machine or tampering with a lock on the box and then taking the money out.”