I READ the report about a student being wheel-clamped in Bishop's Wharf, Postern Close (Evening Press, December 1).

I had a similar experience when a friend, who lives at Bishop's Wharf, invited me to see Chicago at the Grand Opera House.

The evening started well. I met my friend at the entrance to the apartments and he gave me a parking permit to display in my car. I ran to my car and put the permit on the dashboard.

The evening was really nice, Chicago was amazing then it all turned to horror when I said goodbye to my friend and returned to my car to find a clamp attached to a back wheel. I opened my car door and the permit had fallen on the floor.

I telephoned York Clamping Services to explain I was a legitimate visitor and was told I had to pay £100 cash to release the clamp.

Like the student in the article, I did not have that kind of money on me at 10.30pm so I was put in the embarrassing position of asking my friend if he could lend me the cash to release my car. I am self-employed so not having the use of my car would have been seriously detrimental to my business.

The following Friday my friend had another visitor; he had only been in my friend's apartment for a short time and they were talking about what happened to me, so the visitor went to put a permit in his car and could not believe in the short time he had been there he had been clamped.

Again, he did not have £100 or his wallet on him and had to borrow the money off my friend to release his car. We both had a legitimate reason to park in the allocated visitor spaces. The way in which this scheme is being run is taking advantage of genuine visitors.

Stuart Loxton,

Wetherby Road, York.

Updated: 11:13 Monday, December 20, 2004