MeadowHall CLAMPERS RAKE IN £3,000 AN HOUR

SHOPPING CENTRE CLAMPERS RAKE IN £3,000 AN HOUR


By Stephen White 30/10/2009

Shoppers have blasted wheel clampers at one of the country's biggest retail centres as "vultures", whose £3,000-an-hour swoops are "a licence to print money".

Parking control at Sheffield's Meadowhall shopping centre was handed over to a private firm this week.

In just one three-hour session, Parking Control Management handed out 95 tickets, each with a £95 release fee - a staggering total of £9,025.

Signs in the 12,000-space car park warn that clamps will be fitted for wrongful parking in disabled bays, service areas - and for being over the lines.

Drivers have also been clamped for stopping at pick-up points outside shops, taxi ranks and on chevrons.

Roger O'Brien, 66, was clamped after leaving his car in an empty taxi rank and nipping into Marks & Spencer for 10 minutes.


He then saw clampers immobilise a second car in the M&S pick-up point - even though the woman driver, who had a baby with her, was only away for five minutes.

Mr O'Brien, boss of a skip hire company, said: "It's disgusting - the clampers were sitting there like vultures and were laughing when they put the clamp on.

"They said they expect to clamp 1,000 people this week - that's £95,000 in one week alone. It's a licence to print money."

A Meadowhall spokesman said the firm had been brought in following complaints about parking in restricted areas.

He added: "They are an approved contractor with the British Parking Association and provide similar services at Bluewater in Kent... Meadowhall does not benefit from any of the fines imposed."

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2009/10/30/shopping-centre-clampers-rake-in-3-000-an-hour-115875-21784091/