A woman who led a team of car clampers extorting money from motorists in the West Midlands has been jailed for four years.

And the judge who sent Rebecca Meakin to prison criticised the lack of regulation nationwide in the clamping “industry”.

The mother-of-one scammed thousands of pounds from motorists by clamping or threatening to tow away their vehicles and blackmailing them into handing over up to £295.

Last month a jury found that Meakin’s clamping regime was “a scam” and conspiracy to blackmail.

She was sentenced at Stafford Crown Court yesterday with ‘trusted lieutenant’ Kamran Khan who was jailed for 18 months after giving evidence. Meakin, aged 27, of Millers Vale, Heath Hayes, Cannock had denied the conspiracy.

Khan, 29, of Marsh Lane, Birmingham, admitted the charge. He was jailed for a further two-and-a-half years for further crimes of robbery and dangerous driving.