WORRIED householders in Forestdale fear their lives will be made a misery by motorists flouting parking rules when a ban on clamping on private land is introduced.

Residents on Brookscroft say their lives have been "transformed" since they employed a clamping company to patrol the private road last year.

The decision to bring in outside help came after five years of "antisocial" parking.

Motorists with no right to be on the road would leave their cars on its grass verges and blocking residents' driveways.

But problems stopped almost immediately when South Norwood-based Capital Carpark Control, which charges £125 to release a clamped vehicle, was brought in.

Maureen Thomas, a director of Brookscroft Management Ltd which manages the road and its homes, said: "Our clamping company has transformed our lives.

"When they started clamping the antisocial parking stopped."

Mrs Thomas fears the problem will return once government plans to ban clamping on private land are rubber stamped. Those plans could come in as soon as next year.

She added: "We definitely think that the cowboy clampers have to be stopped and there should be legislation against them.

"But our clamping company has been superb and has made a difference to our lives. We're devastated at the thought of the new rules coming in. We can't face going back to what we had."

Under the Government proposals illegally parked cars on private land can still be given tickets.

Mrs Thomas says this was tried in Brookscroft but it failed as penalised motorists were able to simply drive off and then refused to pay the fines.

Capital Carpark Control manager Terry Szmidt believes the new legislation is a "step too far".

"It's going to cause uproar," he said. "It's not just affecting parking enforcement companies, it's affecting landowners too. We wouldn't exist if there wasn't a problem."