THE nightmare could soon be over for drivers who say they have suffered at the hands of extreme wheel clampers in Dorchester.

Parking in Somerleigh Road has been a contentious issue for many years with delivery vans, taxi drivers and even a Royal Mail van stung by over-zealous clampers.

Under new government legislation clamping or towing any vehicle on private land will be banned.

One resident of Somerleigh Road, Henry Bramble, said his car was towed away while he was on holiday.

He said: “They’re unreasonable – I’ve had a problem where I was clamped at my own house because my permit fell down.

“When I came back from holiday I discovered they had clamped it and towed it away.

“I had to pay £450, which is ridiculous because I have a residents’ permit.”

Mr Bramble said his daughter and other visitors had been landed with hundreds of pounds in payments from ‘ruthless clampers’.

“They’re out to make money and that’s the reason they exist,” he said.

“If you step out of your car and there’s no permit they’ll get you straight away, they’re ruthless.”

Parking enforcement on the private road is carried out by Premier Parking Services which refused to comment on the issue.

A spokesman for Dorset Trading Standards said it had received numerous complaints about clamping on the road.

The ban will be introduced in the Government’s Freedom Bill in November and is currently awaiting approval at the House of Lords.

Somerleigh Road resident Chris Meryon said the clamping had solved the problem of illegal parking on the street but claimed the enforcement officers lacked ‘common sense’.

He said: “It preserves the road for us because before the clamping it was full of parked cars but we’ve got to be careful.

“Sometimes these clampers need to use common sense because they are quite vicious.”

Another resident, who did not wish to be named, said: “I think there’s a balance to be struck between keeping the road clear and what seems to be the excessive severity of the clamping company.

“My wife was outside in our car waiting for me once and we got a letter claiming we owed the company money for illegal parking.”

He added: “Delivery drivers often have problems, which is obviously ridiculous because they’re not what the company should be targeting.

“It’s basically greed.”

The ban will not affect local authorities or the police in clamping or towing vehicles to carry out law enforcement on the highways.