Crackdown on cowboy clampers

The Protection of Freedoms Act makes it a criminal offence to clamp on private land in England and Wales, but not Northern Ireland. Clamping and towing away on private land has been banned in Scotland since 1992.

Other changes to vehicle laws include extending police powers to remove vehicles parked on private land to ensure landowners have a means to keep their land clear from obstructive or dangerously parked cars.

The Department for Transport is also strengthening laws around ticketing so that unpaid charges can be claimed from the keeper of the vehicle, as well as the driver.

The Government has agreed on an independent appeals service funded by the British Parking Association (BPA) that will allow motorists to appeal against a charge issued on private land by a company that is a member of the BPA’s approved operator scheme.

Local Transport Minister Norman Baker said: “These new parking arrangements deliver a fairer legal framework for motorists and landowners, while getting rid of the indiscriminate clamping and towing by private companies for good.”

But the AA and the BPA have warned that the new measures do not go far enough because they do not provide sufficient protection from rogue parking operators.

A BPA spokesman said the ban applies only on private land and even then, there are further exceptions where little known by-laws give landowners the right to manage their parking in any way they choose. These include car parks at railway stations, airports and port authorities.