A CLAMPDOWN on rogue wheel clampers could be delayed.

The get-rich-quick operators have struck hundreds of times in Huddersfield, making motorists pay huge ransoms to have their cars released.

Plans were in place to force all clamping firms to be licensed by March 1.

But the Security Industry Authority is now seeking ministerial approval to postpone the deadline - because they claim not enough clampers have applied for a licence.

Both the AA Motoring Trust and RAC Foundation have hit out at the proposals.

Following an Examiner campaign Kirklees Council was one of the first authorities in the country to start a voluntary code of conduct for wheel clampers.

The new licences were expected to stop rogue operators clamping vehicles parked on private land and demanding huge amounts for the release of their car.

The AA Motoring Trust has asked Home Office minister MP Hazel Blears that the deadline stays as planned.

Paul Watters, the trust's head of roads and transport policy, said: "The Private Security Industry Act came into being in 2001.

"We are now four years on and even at the 11th hour, once again, the victims of unscrupulous clampers have been let down.

"We accept that landowners have a right to protect their land from selfish drivers - but the time is up for this to be carried out in an unregulated manner.

"Professional security firms that have made the effort to get their wheel clampers qualified and licensed in time should not be let down by clampers that have dragged their feet."

Edmund King, executive director of the RAC Foundation said: "It appears that high noon for the cowboy clampers has been delayed.

"It seems ridiculous that this licensing scheme should be delayed when the Act was passed four years ago.

"If the Security Industry Authority cannot get their act together, clamping on private land should be outlawed, as it has been in Scotland since 1992.

"Motorists should not park on private land, but often these rogues encourage parking by leaving decoy cars or by hiding signs.

"Many clampers are just out to fleece the motorist. They set their traps and catch many drivers but when investigations start into their activities they are gone."