Driver fury at clamping

Furious Shropshire residents today claimed their cars had been clamped by the DVLA during a blitz on illegal parking despite being declared legally off the road and parked away from the highway.

Up to 12 vehicles are believed to have been clamped during the crackdown in the Harlescott area of Shrewsbury, with residents forced to pay £260 to get their cars released.

Susan Donaldson, of Field Crescent, said her Vauxhall Corsa had been clamped on Monday on a concrete area off the road but still classed as the highway.

The 27-year-old said her vehicle had been clamped despite her being in possession of a SORN – a statutory off-road notification.

Miss Donaldson, who lives with partner Tony O'Gorman and their two children, said she believed she had the right to leave her car parked on the concrete area as the family pays about £110 a year in service charges to Severnside Housing for its maintenance and upkeep.

Housing bosses today vowed to visit Miss Donaldson to "reassess" the situation.

Miss Donaldson said: "Severnside are telling me that I have no rights to this land even though I pay £2 a week for the upkeep of it. I have been paying it for three years. The DVLA came round on Monday but the car has been declared SORN and it's off the road so I don't understand."

Another Harlescott resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said he had been threatened with a fine by the DVLA after removing the clamp on his vehicle. And a resident of Field Crescent said he will let the DVLA confiscate his vehicle, which has no engine inside, saying it was not worth paying to get it back.

A DVLA spokesman said: "Our wheel clamping contractor established that the area on which some of the clamped vehicles were parked were maintained at public expense and therefore it's not part of an individual's property."

Peter Donovan for Severnside Housing, said: "Severnside is arranging for a housing officer to visit the property and reassess the situation.

"However, it is the vehicle keeper's responsibility to make sure that their vehicle complies with vehicle tax legislation at all times, whether parked on or off the road."

By Russell Roberts