UK woman win 30-hour face-off with parking inspector

Jessica Davey, 22, from Salisbury, in southern England, barricaded herself in her Renault Clio for more than a day after parking inspector Anthony Brindley booted her vehicle despite its valid parking permit, the Salisbury Journal reported.

Jessica discovered the clamp when she tried to go to work on Monday.

"I couldn't afford to pay him, and I didn't see why I should, so I decided to stay with my car until he took it [the boot] off so he couldn't tow it away," she said. "If he did, the £250 to get it back is probably more than the car is worth."

Mr Brindley, who said that Ms Davey needed to pay the fine because her permit was on her dashboard, not her windshield, also stayed at the scene, hoping she would give up.

Ms Davey's pleas for help were ignored by police, who said that they were unable to assist her because it was a civil matter.

However, when her boyfriend Simon Baker, 23, tried to remove the clamp, and was arrested on suspicion of criminal damage and taken to a local police station for questioning. He was later released without charge.

Ms Davey sat in her car all day Monday and took the clamp off herself around midday local time Tuesday when Mr Brindley left the scene - 30 hours after she first discovered that her car was immobilised.

"I can't wait to get back to work," she said. "I was getting a bit fed up of sitting in my car. It was getting cold."

Mr Brindley said:"The parking permit was not displayed on the window. It ... can easily be displayed in the windscreen.

"It's our job to immobilise vehicles which are not displaying a valid parking permit, and the release fee is set as such because of our expenses."