A CAR trader from Cinderford says he had "one of the most stressful days" of his life after five of his cars were unexpectedly clamped in the middle of the night.

Tim Trapp who runs Tim's Auto Services on Steam Mills Road, Cinderford, said a team of clampers from a pound in Cwmbran, South Wales, pounced at about Midnight last Monday – the unlucky 13th.

"They clamped the cars on private land which I lease – it's part of my forecourt really just divided by a lane. One of my neighbours was woken up by the noise of the clamps and called out 'you can't do that, it's private land.'

"Apparently they called back, 'We're the DVLA, we can do what we want'."

When he contacted the NSL company pound in Cwmbran Mr Trapp says he was told the cars had been clamped because they were did not have Statutory Off Road Notification (SORN).

"But I'm an auto trader," says Mr Trapp. "I am exempted from having to register the cars as SORN. Motor traders don't have to declare SORN because the cars are only in temporary ownership."

Nevertheless getting the cars released was described by Mr Trapp as an "absolute nightmare".

"I had one of the most stressful days of my life. There were notices on the cars saying I had 24 hours to register them SORN or they would take them and crush them.

"Then there was also the prospect of having to go down to Cwmbran and pay for the release and return of five cars to Cinderford.

"Not only did I have to prove I was a trader, I also had to contact my solicitor and provide all my insurance details. This should be a warning to any traders or even private people. These people can come onto your drive or forecourt and clamp you and you need to know the law to get out of trouble."

The clampers eventually returned to release Mr Trapp's cars last Wednesday afternoon.