Clamping on private land to be banned

Motorists and car buyers will have one less thing to worry about in the near future, as the government has passed legislation which bans wheel clampers from operating on private land in England and Wales.

BBC News reports that legislation, to be brought into effect this November, will introduce steep penalties for anyone who clamps a vehicle or tows it away from private land. Part of the government's reforms contained in the upcoming Freedom Bill, it will revoke more than 2,000 existing clamping licenses and see a welcome return to ticketing.

Minister Lynne Featherstone, Equalities and Criminal Information minister at the Home Office, said that the law will bring an end to "unscrupulous tactics" that motorists have faced for far too long. From November, only the police or local authority employees will be allowed to immobilise or remove a car - and only in exceptional circumstances, such as when a vehicle is blocking a road.

"Reports of motorists being marched to cash points after their car has been towed are simply unacceptable," said Ms Featherstone. She says the government is "committed to ending the menace of rogue private sector wheel-clampers once and for all."

Speaking to The BBC, motoring law specialist, solicitor Nick Freeman, said that when people have left their cars in the wrong areas, rather than being given a ticket for a small initial fine, they have been clamped and left with "no choice but to pay an extortionate release fee and they have no redress other than through the county court, which the vast majority don't pursue."

Lynn Sykes, North Yorkshire, Vauxhall Corsa Life

Mark Prior, Gloucester, AUDI A8 SPORT QUATTRO