AN MP is to join with the RAC in a bid to crack down on car clampers.

The Shadow Home Secretary Jack Straw is demanding tight regulation of the industry.

The Blackburn MP has taken up the issue because of what he says are "serious problems" with clampers throughout the North-west.

In recent years the BEN has been bombarded with complaints about clamping, particularly on an area of land next to the casino on Higher Bridge Street, Bolton.

The RAC will highlight recent cases, including a chemotherapy patient in Yorkshire forced to pay £75 after being clamped when she ran to a toilet to be sick, and a diabetic who had to pay £95 to release her car when she stopped outside a chemist to buy tablets after her blood sugar level nose-dived.

The RAC and Mr Straw want clamping companies to only be allowed to operate if the owner of the land is registered and licensed and if there is a written contract available to motorists between the land owner and the company.

They want standardised charges for release, towing and storage, an appeals procedure with special provision for the disabled, and a reasonable period for motorists to pay up.

Drivers should be able to pay by cash, cheque or credit card and should receive a receipt on the immediate release of their vehicle.

Mr Straw said: "What we are proposing is that clamping firms should be subject to strict regulation. This should end the ability of cowboy clampers to tyrannise innocent motorists. Everybody wants the industry regulated except the cowboy clampers and the Tory party. Tough action is being demanded by the public."

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