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is 8 Driver chops off
Page 14
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clamp and leaves
DRIVERS ARE beginning to fight back in the clamping war at Thurrock Retail Park, according to one who used bolt croppers to release his truck.
International driver Brian Ellis told CM that he had been parked for just 17 minutes on a service road outside the Tesco store at West Thurrock when he returned to find his HGV had been clamped.
"I had a set of bolt cutters so I just cut the clamp off," says Ellis "When I rang up the clamping company — Parking Control Management — they told me that they'd prosecute me and I told them they were welcome to go ahead, but as I live in Italy and drive an Italian vehicle, the process could take years."
PCM wanted to know where the clamp was but Ellis refused to reveal its whereabouts until he received a fax from the company, promising to take no further action. "Apparently there is a fax waiting for me so I told them the clamp was at the bottom of the hedge, near where my truck had been parked!"
The move follows a spate of complaints about high clamping charges and inadequate signage about the fees at West Thurrock. Driver John Hunt was so angry he lodged an appeal against his £150 clamping fine but it was turned down (CM 3 July).