Dave has missed the most obvious & annoying part of the clampers activities - they often clamp vehicles that are legally parked. Given that most people will pay a parking ticket rather than contest it & risk a larger fine; what do you think happens when a clamp is on? Most clampers ramp up fees on a day-by-day basis (never mind if you get towed away & impounded, when the costs rise even more). It's a racket based on the ingrained British reluctance to complain & make a fuss; & on the percentages i.e. would you rather pay the smaller fine or risk complaining successfully against copping a larger fine (& maybe not getting your car back for ages)?

There are a lot of selfish bastards who park illegally. There are also a lot of law-abiding motorists who find themselves on the wrong end of an illegally issued P/T or clamp. I've never been clamped, but I have successfully contested P/Ts in the past & I'm contesting one at the moment!

Anglegrinder Man will get prosecuted when someone makes a complaint. And he'll lose! The charge will be Criminal Damage, & since he'll have damaged someone else's property, I doubt he'll win. The difficulty will only lie in proving it woz 'im wot dunnit. It won't matter whether the clamp was illegally applied. In the meanwhile, good luck to him!