POLICE and brewery bosses have launched an investigation into claims that rogue clampers are targeting people on a controversial pub car park.

Villagers in Whalley claim the opportunist thiefs are lying in wait for people parking cars and clamping them before they can buy parking tickets.

Police are investigating complaints about a series of incidents in the Whalley Arms car park, Whalley.

Whitbread brewers installed a pay and display machine in the car park last year and employed a firm who charge drivers £70 to release their cars, but residents believe some of the clampers are thieves posing as official staff, when the legitimate clampers are away from the site.

PC Kate Sutcliffe, of Clitheroe police, said they had received a number of complaints about clampers' tactics and they were investigating.

Whitbread press officer Sadie Nicholas said the brewery had also been told of several incidents including people being clamped who had parked for less than half an hour at the end of the day. She said the area manager would meet with clamping firm staff this week to discuss the claims.

But she added: "This is a private car park and we are doing the clamping for a reason, but we are aware that there has been a spate of incidents recently that we are not happy about.

"We aim to be fair about this and what's been happening has not been fair. I do not think it's the company we employ because we have used them for a long time and they are a well respected firm.

"If we discover someone else is operating on that car park we will get the police involved."

The car park was previously leased from the brewery by Ribble Valley Borough Council until last year when council chiefs said they could not afford to renew the agreement.

Problems started when Whitbread bosses claimed shoppers and visitors were parking all day and inconveniencing pub customers and staff. They banned motorists who were not customers but later installed a pay-and-display machine to ease the problem, while refunding ticket money to customers.

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