A MEAL out with his girlfriend turned into a clamping nightmare for welder William Kilshaw.

Blackburn magistrates heard how his car was clamped and £70 demanded by the clampers.

But his efforts to remove the restraint with a grinder landed him in police cells for five hours and with a bill for £400 to recover his own car and a van belonging to his employers which also got clamped and then towed away.

"I could not believe what was happening to me," said William after the magistrates gave him an absolute discharge.

"It still seems like a nightmare and I keep hoping I will wake up and it won't be real."

The nightmare began when William drove into Blackburn town centre on a Friday night intending to go for a meal.

He parked on the car park belonging to Carlines in St Peter Street and assumed the clampers from Car Park Security Limited would not be operating at night.

"I actually know Andy who has Carlines but what I didn't know then is that outside shop hours the car park is leased to the Indian restaurant across the road, said William, 23, who lives in the Revidge area of Blackburn.

"While we were away from the car I think the clampers were called.

"My girlfriend was absolutely fuming and she jumped in a taxi and left me.

"I have four children to support and I work hard to do that and there is no way I had £70 to pay the clampers."

In frustration, William went to his employer's premises and loaded a portable generator and grinder into a van.

"He drove back to the car park and started to remove the clamp.

"While I was doing that two very large gentlemen from the clamping company turned up and after we had exchanged words I phoned the police on my mobile because I thought there was going to be some aggro," said William.

"These two blocked the car park entrance with their car and then clamped the works van as well."

When the police arrived William was arrested and charged with criminal damage to a wheel clamp.

"He was released from custody at 3.30am and after a sleepless night began trying to recover the vehicles.

"I could not pay £140 to have the clamps removed and the car and van were both taken away by Cross Recovery," said William.

"I was then told it would cost me £105 for the towing fee on top of the £70 clamping charge and with VAT it came to just short of £400 to get both vehicles back.

"My boss would not have been too pleased if the van had not been back at work on Monday so I had to borrow the money."

Defence solicitor Stephen Parker told the court he felt it extortionate that the clamping company could charge £70 to remove a clamp.

"Illegal parking on the Queen's highway might cost you £20 but they effectively have a mandate to charge what they like," said Mr Parker. "This is not a case where someone has gone into a car park during the day when it is busy and not paid the fee.

"He has gone there late on and he did not anticipate this car park would be regulated at 10.50pm.

"Clearly he was wrong."

Mr Parker said his client's "crime" had been to damage the clamp.

"There is nothing to stop him removing it from the vehicle as long as he doesn't damage it," said Mr Parker.

"You may well feel this man has been punished sufficiently in the circumstances."

Ordering an absolute discharge, the chairman said the magistrates had sympathy with the defendant and the problems he faced.

A request for £40 compensation had been made by the prosecution but the chairman said the magistrates were not making any award.

They ordered William to pay £20 towards the court costs.

Nobody at Carlines was available for comment.