A new £600,000 scheme to make Parking easier for Gatwick Airport passengers is helping fight crime.

Two stolen cars have been found at Parking Express long-term car park in the South Terminal since an automatic car registration recognition system was installed a month ago.

All car numbers are recorded and recognised by a small camera at the entrance barrier.

Police looking for stolen cars can get instant access to all the registration numbers in the car park.

The new system allows drivers to pre-pay and pre-book a parking space.

Their number plate is automatically recognised and recorded when they enter and leave the car park, cutting out the hassle of having to queue to pay.

It is the first time an automatic recognition system has been linked to pre-payment and pre-booking in this country.

A total of 4,500 spaces in the car park at the South Terminal have been set aside for the new system.

Tony Shuttleworth, the firm's airport division manager, said: "We are offering a seamless service for people who pre-book. There is enough to worry about when going on holiday and this will make things a lot easier."

Drivers who pre-book pick up a ticket at the barrier when they enter the car park. Their registration number is read by a camera on a 3ft tower and is automatically checked on a database.

The ticket is then printed with the pre-booked reference number. When they leave the car park, drivers put the ticket into the slot by the barrier and it will let them out.

Drivers who have not pre-booked get the word Cashier written on their ticket, which means they have to pay at one of the booths before leaving the car park.

David Evans, Parking Express contract manager, said: "As well as tightening up security, this new system means drivers don't have to queue to pay when they want to leave the car park and they don't have to carry paperwork around with them."

Parking Express faces competition from NCP, which also runs a long-term car park on the airport site.

Both firms charge the same rates, £6.80 a day for the first four days and £6.60 a day after that.

The automatic system is also being installed at Heathrow.