Clampers ambush kids dance class
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A mother with two disabled daughters and a group of mums with young children were ambushed by cold hearted parking attendants during a clamping and ticketing sting last week.
On Thursday night, mothers and their kids were reduced to tears when clampers at the St Austell Football Club struck during a dance class.
Eight vehicles were clamped, with a charge of £100 for release, and £50 tickets were stuck on five other cars when they ran out of clamps, netting over £1,000 for the clamp company, Premier Park.
There were no signs to make people aware of the new parking charges at the front entrance of the St Austell Rifle and Pistol Club, where the dance class was being held, and the mums were shocked to discover the clamps and tickets when they had parked for no more than 15 minutes after dropping off their kids.
Signs were hastily erected on the gates the following day, after the Voice contacted the clamping gang.
Sara Poulter’s two disabled daughters, Amie, 5, and Sapphire, 11, watched in tears as their mum had to borrow £100 to have the clamp from her car removed, despite having a disabled badge.
She said: "I was gutted, I couldn't believe it. I had to borrow the money to pay because I didn't have it. I only had my rent money. There was no reasoning with them."
This was the first time the dance class had been held since the new parking charges were introduced, and the new 'pay and display' machine was installed, so teacher Karen Lane told the mothers to check their cars, but it was too late.
Karen (pictured right), who is the principal of the Dance Factory, described the events of Thursday night. She said: "After we realised the cars were clamped, we kept the children in here for as long as we could, but obviously children are children and they start to get upset, and when they came out they were just heartbroken.
"One little girl, who was about nine, just fell into my arms crying, saying "I don’t know what to say, I don’t know what words to use, this is horrible". Children as young as three and four were crying.
"One mum had saved her money up for her kid’s birthday that is in a few weeks, and actually went up to the guy in charge of the gang, and said "Look, I’m having to use her money for her birthday so she’s not going to get the birthday I want to give her.
"He just smired and said ‘Tough’. Another mum’s car was showing a disabled badge . He said ‘I don’t care’ and he clamped her. Another one had to hand over her rent money. The list just went on.
"It was just chaos and anarchy out there. They said if the mums didn’t pay within three hours the gates would be locked and they certainly wouldn’t get their cars. They would bring in tow trucks, they would be towed away and it would be £350 then to get them back.
"It was just a nightmare, it was just so surreal, I didn’t think I could meet anybody so cold and callous.”
Little Cassidy Bidmead was celebrating her third birthday last Thursday and was devastated when her mum Francesca Ball had her car clamped.
Francesca said: "I was fuming at the time. Cassidy was very upset by it. When I put my daughter in his face, he just shrugged and smirked, and didn't even look her in the face. She was one and a half hours late for her own birthday party.
“She still talks about the nasty men that hurt mummy's car."
The frightened mothers stood in a line in front of the patrol car to prevent it from leaving and leaving their cars stranded, and police were called to try to diffuse the situation.
It was reported in the Voice two weeks ago that the football club will gain financial revenue from the new parking venture, with a small cut coming from the parking, which they are hoping will fund the club in their bid to have floodlights installed.
The football club refused to comment when contacted by the Voice.
Only hours after the Voice contacted the clampers, Premier Park, a new sign was put up on the Rifle Club entrance gate.
A spokesman for the company told the Voice: "Cars were parked illegally and they were clamped. End of story."
