It will go down in motoring folklore as the great Southend stand-off — the day when the humble car owner finally defeated the mighty clamper.

Like most great battles it started just after dawn when the team of “parking control officers” emerged through the fog at a block of flats on the outskirts of Southend-on-Sea, Essex.

Within minutes they had clamped 16 cars at the Vision development. All they had to do was sit back and collect the £205 payments. Similar scenes are played out thousands of times a day across Britain, and culminate with the angry motorist paying-up.

But on Friday the residents of Southend refused to back down. Instead of paying up they gave the clampers a taste of their own medicine.

Motorists whose cars were still free barricaded the entrance to the car park while friends and family were called to provide back-up. The clampers and their van were trapped inside, and the stand-off began.

Dave Smith, 48, one of the blockade’s organisers, found that his son’s Ford Fiesta was among the clamped vehicles: “I came into the car park and saw all these cars clamped. There were three women crying their eyes out and the clampers were just laughing.”

The trouble appears to have started when the flats’ managing agents, Ringley, issued residents’ permits to prevent commuters parking and using nearby Prittlewell Station. Unfortunately, letters giving details of the scheme were delivered to the residents’ previous addresses, meaning that many were unaware it was starting last Friday.

On the first day of operation, London Parking Control arrived to enforce the new regulations.

“There were two big blokes with shaven heads, all dressed in black,” Mr Smith said. “These mini-Hitlers were demanding £205 off us for parking in the spaces we have already paid for. It was disgusting — they were using bully-boy tactics but there was no way we were going to pay the money.”

Lisa Stiles had little choice but to pay a £125 release fee — a specially reduced rate — as she had an important hospital appointment. “I didn’t have any cash so they told me to get my credit card,” said Ms Stiles, 29.

But the other residents stood firm, calling their bosses to explain that they would probably not be in the office that day.

“People were making cups of tea for each other and my wife went and made sandwiches for us all, to keep us going,” Mr Smith said. “It was a great atmosphere. It was a strange way to meet the neighbours but we were sticking together.”

Finally, after more than four hours, the clampers admitted defeat. A spokesman for London Parking Control said: “We are still looking into the incident and liaising with our client, Ringley.”

Amid scenes of jubilation probably not seen locally since the promotion of Southend United Football Club, the clampers removed the cars’ anchors. The barricade was removed and the clampers were freed.

“We all gave them a cheer and sent them on their way,” Mr Smith said.

Fighting back

— Office workers clamped a parking unit van in Soho, Central London, in 1998. The council had to tow away its own van

— A woman driver in Somerset swiped the keys to a clamper’s van in 2005. A colleague had to drive 50 miles to deliver a new set

—A garage worker in Berkshire immobilised a van belonging to clampers, then freed his own car

— A woman spent almost two days in her car last November after refusing to pay to remove a clamp. She eventually paid the £150

Source: Times database