Drivers' anger after cars are clamped
AN Ipswich man has spoken of his anger after being made to fork out £120 to get a clamp removed after popping into a shop for some biscuits.
AN Ipswich man has spoken of his anger after being made to fork out £120 to get a clamp removed after popping into a shop for some biscuits.
Paul Smythe, 51, of Larchcroft Road, was caught by clampers after parking up in a bay at Fairview's Modus development, off Duke Street, on Monday afternoon, so he could go into the nearby Tesco Express.
Mr Smythe said there were no road markings on the bay and was horrified to emerge after a few minutes and find a clamp on his car.
He paid £120 to get the car released.
He said: “I didn't realise there were any signs up until I was clamped - they were eight foot up in the air and difficult to see.
“I explained the situation to the guy who put the clamp on and asked him to remove it but he refused.
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“I had to pay up to get it off.
“It's absolutely disgraceful.
“I'm writing to the council about it.”
Laticia Wolton, who works at the Tesco store was also caught out by the new parking measures, believed to have been introduced over the weekend.
She said: “I'm told I have to have a parking permit, but I have not been given one.
“It's ridiculous to start clamping people like this.”
A spokesman for Aspire Parking Limited, said the firm had been asked to enforce parking restriction on the Modus development
“If someone is parking illegally they are causing a nuisance and a problem to residents,” the spokesman said.
“The whole idea of clamping is to put a stop to it.”
Have you been the victim of clamping in Ipswich? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk
