Coalition Government to ban wheel clamping on private land (From This Is Local London)

Coalition Government to ban wheel clamping on private land

10:08am Tuesday 17th August 2010 in

• Skip social links
• Print
• Email
• Comments(1)

WHEEL clampers will be banned from operating on private land to tackle rogue operators who exploit drivers by charging "exorbitant fees".

Home Office minister Lynne Featherstone said previous efforts to curb the activities of unscrupulous clampers had failed and England and Wales would now follow Scotland, which introduced a ban nearly two decades ago.

Motoring organisations hailed the move, which will be introduced in the Government's Freedom Bill in November and could be in place by early next year.

Ms Featherstone told BBC Breakfast: "Even though we have tried to make this work by licensing individuals, companies who are responsible for the setting of the fees and the putting of signage have not really responded. We keep trying to make this work but it doesn't."

The equalities and criminal information minister said private firms would be banned from clamping or towing vehicles but would still be able to ticket parked cars. Landowners could also install barriers to prevent parking, she added.

Ms Featherstone said despite a high number of complaints about clamping firms and the poor signage sometimes used to warn drivers, there had been "very, very few" prosecutions.

She said: "Most police forces do not spend their time prosecuting clamping companies, that's the other side of this problem."

More than 2,000 existing clamping licences will be revoked under the plans for England and Wales, with towing away also outlawed, as ministers act to end the "scourge" of so-called cowboy clampers.

AA president Edmund King said: "An outright ban on wheelclamping on private land is a victory for justice and common sense. We have been campaigning for a ban against this legalised mugging for many years.

"Too many clampers have been acting like modern-day highwaymen for too long. Many elderly and vulnerable people have been ripped off by these callous cowboys. Clamping has been banned in Scotland since 1991 without problems."