WIDOW PAYS £214 FOR CLAMP RELEASE IN "DAYLIGHT ROBBERY" - Chris Huhne MP

12.00.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Mon 12th Nov 2007

Widowed pensioner Mrs Kathleen Lovell had the shock of her life when she was asked for £214 to release her car after a visit to local Fair Oak shops.

Mrs Lovell of Elkins Square, Bishopstoke parked her car in the normal way as she had been doing for years but was shocked and dismayed when she came back to it after her local shopping trip to find a wheel clamp.

The Redroute operative then insisted that she pay £214 before he would release the clamp, a sum of money which bore no relation to the sign at the site or any usual parking fine.

Mrs Lovell is pictured here at the site with Eastleigh MP Chris Huhne, who has taken up the issue with the Redroute company, Eastleigh Borough Council and the Police.

"This is the nearest thing I have seen to extortion with menaces, and I think it is wholly inappropriate for a private company to be demanding such large amounts from motorists.

"Moreover, there is no proper warning that this is likely to happen so people cannot be forewarned and forearmed. I think that trading standards officers should look at these companies and see whether there is a law that allows them to prosecute for sharp practice" said Mr Huhne. "Frankly, this charge is daylight robbery".