Cowboy clampers, who clamp cars on private land, are to be banned, government ministers have said.

Home Office minister, Lynne Featherstone, will announce plans to stop the clamping in England and Wales. She will say the law needs to be brought up-to-speed to how it is in Scotland – where clamping on private land was said to be ‘extortion’ and ‘theft’, and was subsequently banned by a judge.

According to The Daily Telegraph, Ms. Featherstone will speak to officials in Northern Ireland about implementing a ban there too.

The cowboy clamping industry – which involves removing cars parked without permission on private land (which can cost the owners as much as £400 to release) – is believed to be worth around £1billion a year.

If brought in, new laws would include measures to stop companies removing cars on private land without permission. Ms. Featherstone added that companies who wanted to protect their land could easily erect barriers to prevent people parking there.

Photo by ell brown