Car Clamping Gang May Have Defrauded Victims Of Up To £500,000

Car Clamping Gang Targeted Vulnerable Victims

An illegal car clamping operation which used vulnerable motorists "as a licence to print money" may have netted up to £500,000, a court has heard.

Worcester Crown Court was told that Redditch-based Midland Parking Contracts used underhand tactics and intimidated drivers into parting with up to £335 to unclamp vehicles and cancel tow-truck call-outs.

Six defendants, including the company's owner, Andrew Minshull, and his partner, Debbie Worton, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud in January, but their pleas could not previously be reported due to a court order.

Guilty pleas were also entered last month by Simon Barry, Christopher Cartwright, Faisal Qadeer and Lloyd Isherwood, who worked as front-line staff for the rogue firm.

Minshull, 38, and Worton, 43, both of Hatfield Close, Redditch; Barry, 38, of Lilac Close, Evesham; Cartwright, 31, of Salisbury Drive, Kidderminster; and Qadeer, 35, of Mount Pleasant, Redditch; and Isherwood, 39, of Groveley Lane, Birmingham, were charged with conspiracy in 2010 after a joint investigation involving West Mercia Constabulary and Worcestershire's trading standards department.

Opening the case against the defendants, prosecutor Anthony Potter said the business had operated at 19 sites and was seen by its operatives as a licence to print money.

Mr Potter said the conspiracy's victims, including meter readers for water and power companies, a disabled woman displaying a blue badge, and even a man visiting a mental health centre, were targeted in Redditch, Nuneaton, Evesham, Worcester, Coventry, Bromsgrove, and Cheltenham between March 2006 and August 2009.

The court heard that warning signs were either not prominent or on at least one occasion were erected after motorists had parked.

Estimating that the profit from the conspiracy may have been as high as £500,000, Mr Potter told the court: "Different sites appear to have been 'policed' with more vigour than some other sites.

"It's difficult to put an accurate figure on the proceeds - we suggest a figure of up to £500,000 but it is very difficult to be specific."

The court also heard that Worton used an alias to fob off aggrieved drivers who complained by telephone, while appeal letters and county court judgments were ignored by the firm, which had a postal address in Birmingham.

The inquiry into the company's activities was prompted by hundreds of complaints from members of the public living across West Mercia, the West Midlands, Gloucestershire and Warwickshire.

Minshull, Worton, Barry, Cartwright and Qadeer will be sentenced at Worcester Crown Court on Tuesday, while Isherwood is expected to be dealt with at a later date.

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