Bedford Driving Lessons

THREE motorists have claimed “victory for the common man” after successfully overturning car clamping fees. The trio took on car clamping company GMD, which imposed hundreds of pounds in release fees after the motorists parked on private land belonging to a hotel in Halifax. Claire Jowett, 32, Susan Ashman, 50, and John Wharton, 65, were celebrating after district judge Alex Foster sided with them and told GMD boss George McDicken to pay more than £700 following a day-long hearing at Halifax County Court. Mrs Jowett and Miss Ashman accepted they were not authorised to park at the Imperial Crown Hotel and were liable for the £100 clamping fine. However, they objected to a £200 fee imposed for “towing and removal” – despite the fact their vehicles were not removed from the car park. Both women said they never saw the warning signs positioned on the walls of the car park which is for use by hotel guests and staff. Mr Wharton objected to a £100 fine imposed on him after he turned up at the hotel last June in his vehicle – purely to pay a release fee imposed on his partner who had parked there. The court was told Mr McDicken had been “vindictive and bloody-minded” when he clamped Mr Wharton and did it purely to “teach him a lesson” after the pair became involved in a heated argument. More