THE boss of one of Colchester’s biggest clamping companies said the Government ban would cost jobs and lead to angry confrontations.

Tony Fithon, who runs Impact Security Services, said he would switch to issuing parking tickets and pursuing drivers through the courts if they failed to pay up.

But he said other companies would not be prepared to take on the expense and hassle of mounting legal claims, and would shut down, putting the jobs of hundreds of the UK’s 2,150 clampers at risk.

With the clamping deterrent removed, he predicted a rise in public order offences arising from rows between the owners of private parking spaces and drivers using them illegally.

Mr Fithon said: “The ban on clamping means people who don’t want to pay their fines will be able to drive off, and the only way of making them pay will be through the small claims court.

“My company will go over to ticketing people and we will charge them our legal costs if they don’t pay, which could result in bigger penalties.

“Not everyone will be willing or able to go down that route though, and they could end up back on benefits.

“It’s going to be murder. People will be parking wherever they like and landowners won’t be able to stop them.

“People with private parking spaces will find drivers have parked in them and there will be arguments.”

Mr Fithon added the Government could have solved the problem of cowboy clampers by imposing a maximum limit on the size of fines.