Police curb illegal car clampers

Illegal clampers operating in a Lincolnshire town are to be targeted in a police crackdown.

Operation Pavilion has begun with the aim of preventing unlicensed vehicle clampers operating in and around the Boston area.

Lincolnshire Police said they had received a number of complaints about illegal clamping in the town over the past few months.

The operation is being run with the Security Industry Authority (SIA).

Car clamping businesses must be registered with the SIA and those that are not are acting illegally.

Police said one recent incident involved attempts to clamp a car while the driver was manoeuvring his vehicle after he had taken a wrong turn.

Insp Phil Clark said: "Not all clamping is illegal and no doubt there will be instances where vehicles have been clamped by a registered company and in perfectly legal and justified circumstances.

"However, we do know that this isn't always the case.

"We believe that some companies have been carrying out illegal clamping for quite some time, but these concerns have only just started to come to light."