THE Chief Constable of Hampshire Constabulary claimed for a 50p parking ticket and £357.90 on eating out when he worked at Thames Valley.

He also claimed £40 on expenses for a memorial wreath for dead colleagues.

Alex Marshall, who was Deputy Chief Constable for Thames Valley Police at the time the claims were made, took the top job at Hampshire Constabulary in October last year.

The expenses, which were for the period between January 2007 and October 2008, were revealed through a Freedom of Informa-tion request.

In his current post, Mr Marshall earns £146,589 a year.

Mr Marshall refused to comment on his total £2,412.89 expenses bill. But Thames Valley Police spokesman Gayle Rossiter said Mr Marshall believed all his expenses were appropriate and did not think it was unreasonable for the public to pay for meals with colleagues.

A claim for a National Police Memorial Day wreath last June was within regulations, Mrs Rossiter added.

Matthew Elliott, chief executive at the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “No doubt some of Mr Marshall’s expenses are legitimate, but to expect taxpayers to foot the bill for everything from parking tickets to memorial wreaths shows a lack of judgement and empathy.

“It may be within the letter of the rules to claim for these items, but any ordinary member of the public would have to put their hand in their own pocket, and Mr Marshall should have done the same.

“In future, he should spare a thought for taxpayers and use his handsome salary to pay for his own day-to-day costs.”