SCOTTISH motorists are more fortunate than their English and Welsh counterparts when it comes to clampers operating on private land.

Scotland's legal system is completely independent from that south of the border, and in 1992 a Scottish judge declared that clamping on private land amounted to extortion and theft and was therefore illegal.

This does not affect clamping by public bodies such as the police.

In England and Wales, however, private landowners are at perfect liberty to employ clampers.

Provided there are warning signs posted on the site, clamping firms are permitted to clamp cars, have them removed and charge as they see fit for their release.

A campaign by the RAC Foundation prompted the led the Government to establish a new authority to licence clamping on private land in England and Wales.

Called the Security Industry Authority, it will licence all clampers but is unlikely to be fully operational before the end of next year.

Any driver attempting to remove a clamp may find themselves charged with criminal damage. And if they take the clamp away with them, a theft charge might be added.

No plans to clamp

WHEN Swindon Council took over the policing of parking from Wiltshire Constabulary in September, it also inherited the right to clamp cars.

However, it currently has no plans to exercise that right.

Parking services manager Tony Foss said: "Under decriminalised parking legislation introduced in Swindon on September 1, Swindon Council does have the power to clamp illegally parked vehicles.

"However this is a very costly exercise and due to the excellent job our parking attendants are doing there is no requirement for a clamping policy at this stage."

The council prefers instead to issue fixed penalty notices for payments of £30, which rises to £60 if not paid to the council within 14 days.

For some years, Swindon struggled to impose a parking policy while sometimes having only one traffic warden.

This made the town easy pickings for inconsiderate and illegal parkers.

However, a recruitment drive prior to the September handover of power means illegal parking is now many times riskier.