The moment furious drivers turned the tables on wheel clampers by trapping them in a car park

Residents on a complex of newly built flats woke up to find two men busily putting wheel clamps on any cars which did not have a parking permit.

Angry drivers phoned family and friends to drive over and block the entrance to the car park - so the clampers were stuck inside.

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Vincent Martin 36, a taxi driver who lives in the exclusive complex in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, said: "I woke up at 8.30am and I heard a commotion going on so I threw some clothes on and went outside.

"I saw there were two men dressed in black in a van. They were really big, bald-headed guys and looked really intimidating.

"They had clamped about seven or eight cars and the drivers were out there shouting and crying.

"Luckily I'd got my permit and already put it on but some people were saying they had not received theirs.

"People missed work and hospital appointments."

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Signs dotted around the car park warn residents they face an £80 parking ticket or £125 clamp release fee if they do not display a permit while in an allocated residents' space.

Mr Martin said he had got several letters warning that enforcement action was starting but some residents claimed they had not received them.

The problem appears to have started when Ringley, the flats' managing agents, sent out letters to the residents' old addresses, who were then unaware when the scheme would begin.

He added: "When I went off to work, there were cars blocking the entrance. They were determined not to let the clampers out.

"They were trapped there for three hours until they eventually took the wheel clamps off.

"The people certainly turned the tables on the clampers - it's one in the eye for the clampers."

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Workers from London Parking Control clamped eight cars in an area for allocated residents' parking which is controlled by Ringley.

Some residents paid to have their cars released but others refused to hand over the £125 and drafted in help from their family and friends.

Five cars blockaded the arched entrance to the flats. After a tense five-hour stand-off, the management company backed down and called off the clampers.

A spokeswoman for the London Parking Control said: "We are still looking into the incident and liaising with our client, Ringley."

Lisa Stiles, 29, said she was forced to pay the fine to get her four-month-old daughter Ella to Southend Hospital for a check-up for eczema.

She said: "It was very upsetting to pay all that money. I'm on my own and can't afford it."

In a letter to some residents, Ringley said it decided to introduce the clamping measures because of "problems with car parking" on the estate, which was opened in May last year.

Scott O'Brien, 20, who was clamped said: "I'm disgusted. I was parked in my designated space and I didn't receive a letter or permit or anything.

A cheer went up among the parking protesters and the barrier of cars were moved to let the clampers out.