Car clampers are on the rise as the number of people holding licences for the unpopular practice has soared this year.

Figures released today by drivers group the RAC Foundation reveal that 2,100 individuals are now licensed to clamp. This is an increase from 1,200 in March 2008 and 1,900 in April 2009.

And RAC Foundation director Professor Stephen Glaister warned that cowboy clampers would be out and about in force during the busy festive shopping period.

The news comes just weeks after conman Clifton Hoffman admitted 38 charges of fraud and aggressive practices after setting up an illegal clamping firm that ticketed hundreds of Wolverhampton motorists.

The 40-year-old, of Riches House, Whitmore Reans, produced tickets on his computer that were almost duplicates of official Wolverhampton City Council documents and used industry logos without permission to charge 280 victims to get their cars back.

He will be sentenced at the city’s crown court in the New Year.

The RAC’s Mr Glaister said: “There will be little festive cheer for bargain hunters if they put a wheel wrong when it comes to parking.

“The figures reveal more and more people are becoming clampers because the business is so lucrative and the law surrounding it lax.

“With charges for being clamped and towed often running into several hundred pounds, cowboy clampers will be out in force during the Christmas sales, on the lookout for motorists who leave their car in the wrong place even for a few minutes.”

Mr Glaister said the huge rise in licence holders proves the Government needs to act quickly on its pledge to cap fees, provide an appeals service and a binding code of conduct.

A Home Office spokesman said: “We will introduce a compulsory licensing scheme to tackle rogue wheel clampers.

“A compulsory licensing scheme for operators will leave clamping firms in no doubt as to their responsibility to the public and anyone breaching the strict code of practice risks losing their licence. Firms will have to ensure signage is clear, fines are proportionate and towing practices are regulated.”

By Daniel Wainwright