Parking wardens will be banned from clamping cars for single offences as part of the biggest overhaul of parking rules in more than a decade.

Under new regulations, councils have been told that they should not set targets for raising revenue from parking fines or the number tickets to be issued.

Clamps can only be used when a vehicle repeatedly breaks parking rules and it has not been possible to collect payment for penalties, Ruth Kelly, the Transport Secretary, has ruled.

The new guidelines are contained in a consultation document sent out to councils last week, which emphasises that clamps should “only be used in limited circumstances”.

In future, local authorities must take into account “the inconvenience caused to motorists whose vehicles are clamped or removed, the potential obstruction or loss of parking space that results from immobilisation, and the impact that clamping and removals can have on the public perception and acceptance of [parking wardens]”.

It adds: “Clamping and removal at night is particularly discouraged because of the extra inconvenience, and potential danger to vulnerable motorists.”

Cars that have been clamped should be released within an hour of payment, the document says, and “the inconvenience and potential cost from prolonged release times is not appropriate”.

New restrictions will also be imposed on when councils can tow cars to the pound, with local authorities told that they may only be removed when there are “clear traffic management benefits”.

Councils made £1.16 billion from parking charges and fines in 2005, up from £638 million in 1997.

In May, it emerged that Kensington & Chelsea council in London set an annual minimum target of 15,000 clamps, in addition to 306,000 parking tickets. The contract with National Car Parks stipulated that the company would lose money if it does not hit targets. Last July, Camden became the latest London council to abandon clamping, after a similar decision by Islington. The document makes it clear that councils should not try to use parking fines to raise money. “Raising revenue should not be an objective of parking enforcement, nor should targets be set for raising revenue or the number of penalty notices to be issued,” it says.

Rosie Winterton, the Transport Minister, said: “There is a perception that motorists are often unfairly penalised by parking attendants who are only interested in issuing as many tickets as possible. We want to ensure the penalties they issue are fair and justified.”

Edmund King, the executive director of the RAC Foundation, said: “Motorists will welcome restrictions on wheel clamping as the punishment rarely fits the crime. Clamping a car for overstaying on a meter makes no sense, as the parking place is then blocked for a longer period. Clamping, both on-street and off-street, should only be used to target persistent offenders as a last resort. Clamping is a crude activity, which should have been outlawed at the time of Dick Turpin.

“Overzealous enforcement, confusing signs and lines, and the belief that councils are using parking fines to raise revenue rather than keep the traffic moving are all issues that motorists raise with us. We hope that this guidance will lead to a fairer regime.”

The rules do not apply to the 500,000 motorists who are clamped on private land each year and charged up to £750 to recover their vehicles. Private clampers are governed by voluntary rules, drawn up by the British Parking Association, which say that clamps are to be removed within two hours of payment and the fee must not exceed £125.

In 2005, the Government signalled that it was considering using clamping or towing to deal with minor motoring offences, such as failure to pay car tax or register a vehicle, in order to take millions of offences out of the criminal courts. Lord Falconer of Thoroton, then the Lord Chancellor, said: “More wheel clamping would be a good idea.”

Explore UK News

• Crime News

• Education News

• Health News

• Scotland News

Times Recommends

• The bright side of this winter rain
• Story behind the picture: Snow Leopard, 2008
• Times Charity Appeal: The Place2Be