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Where do I stand legally if I use an angle grinder to remove a wheel clamp?

Having been clamped on private land (where I was working, I parked in the wrong bay at a block of flats last week), I now carry a powerful angle grinder in my van. The nice Russian lad who came to remove the boot after I had paid the £75 said that, if I had cut it off, the police would be contacted and I would be prosecuted. I would be inclined to remove the clamp and demand a sum of money for its return, but how do I stand legally on: a) Removal of clamp. b) Asking for money for its return?

Asked on 28 May 2011 by KR, Bristol

Answered by Honest John
As the law stands after our previous government licensed the clampers, if you removal the clamp with an angle grinder you get charged for criminal damage, and if you ask for money for its return, you get charged for criminal damage and theft. The Protection from Freedoms Bill (awaiting its Reports stage) aims to alter the status of clampers but contains a hidden clause that will be a licence to exploit anyone parking on private property, including all privately owned roads and carparks.
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