ANOTHER motorist claims he was clamped while still sitting at the wheel and forced to pay more than £700.

Following the widely-publicised case of mum Jesse Martin, clamped by LBS Enforcement while allegedly doing a U-turn in Nelson Road, Leigh, in June, shopowner Alan Baker said the same thing happened to him at the same spot.

Mr Baker, who runs Discount Computer Repairs in nearby London Road, said he had manoeuvred to allow another vehicle to pass, leaving his black Kia partly in a private car park for a block of flats. But despite only being there for a minute and half-way across the pavement, two vans from LBS blocked him at the front and the back at about 9.30am on Wednesday.

After they clamped his car, Mr Baker had to pay £710 to get it released.

He said the clampers hiked up the price because he called the police.

Mr Baker said: “I was so wound up about it.

“I was half-way on the pavement and half-way in the car park.

“I was in the car with the engine running and these two vans came screaming up the road and blocked me.

“I’ve owned cars worth less than £710.”

An LBS spokesman described the incident as “lies” and said: “We cannot disclose any of these scenarios as it would be in breach of an Security Industry Authority regulation.”

A police spokesman said: “We did attend a clamping dispute, but because it is a civil matter, we cannot get involved.

“We advise motorists to always park in properly-designated areas and to contact the Security Industry Authority in these instances if they are concerned.”