Three-point turn driver clamped

A woman driver attempting a three-point turn had her car immobilised by cowboy clampers, a court heard today.

Alison de Ville was targeted by Darren Havell and Gordon Miller, who operated their Aquarius Security clamping firm in the Portsmouth area.

Bristol Crown Court was told how the men would deliberately trap drivers by blocking them in with a company van. After being clamped, the drivers would then be asked to pay an extortionate release fee.

Their victims also included a man sitting in his car with the engine running and a driver whose car was moving at the time they tried to fix a clamp.

Another driver, Lynda Walsh, told the court how in March last year she was clamped on a disused garage forecourt as Miller told her: "It's stupid people like you that pay for my Rolex and my Mercedes."

Havell, 30, of Portsmouth and Miller, 38, of Southsea, were today remanded in custody and warned they face a lengthy jail term after being found guilty of blackmailing drivers.