A KIDDERMINSTER man was one of six people who worked for a "bullying" car clamping company which extorted cash from motorists in Worcester, a judge was told yesterday.

Midland Parking Contracts made an estimated profit of £500,000 over a three-year period from 19 sites, which included Farrier House in Farrier Street.

Prosecutor Anthony Potter said the firm, run by Andrew Minshull, exploited the public and was "ruthlessly efficient", charging a clamp release fee of £125 and another £170 to cancel a towing truck, used for taking cars away.

Some victims, including a disabled woman with a blue badge on display in her car, were charged up to £335.

Mr Potter said: "Like tax collectors and traffic wardens, clampers are seen by the public as a necessary evil but it is a matter of balance.

Clampers are expected to be polite and considerate and to let some people off with a warning.

"But this company was not run in a responsible manner. The business was seen as a licence to print money. It operated with bullying and intimidating behaviour, often against vulnerable people."

In the dock at Worcester Crown Court were Minshull, 38, and his girlfriend Debbie Worton, 43, both of Hatfield Close, Redditch, Simon Barry, 38, of Lilac Close, Evesham, Christopher Cartwright, 31, of Salisbury Drive, Kidderminster, Faisal Qadeer, 35, of Mount Pleasant, Redditch and Lloyd Isherwood, 39, of Groveley Lane, Birmingham.

A total of 71 witnesses had been set to give evidence against MPC but the six defendants pleaded guilty to a conspiracy to defraud on January 12 when a six-week trial had been due to start.

Mr Potter said Worton was at the heart of the firm's administration, dealing with aggrieved motorists. Barry was in charge of the clamping operation and identified Midlands sites which included Worcester, Evesham, Coventry, Cheltenham, Birmingham, Nuneaton, Bromsgrove and Redditch used by the firm between March, 2006 and August, 2009.

Cartwright, Qadeer and Isherwood were "the men on the front line", employing "aggressive and unsympatehtic behaviour" towards the car owners they clamped, said Mr Potter.

Victims, which included meter readers for power and water companies, were clamped within minutes of parking. Warning signs were not prominent and the clampers made no effort to warn motorists. They wore no uniforms and carried no identification.

Payment was demanded in cash, forcing motorists to go to cashpoints to pay the charges. Letters to the firm received no replies and phone callers were fobbed off with "ruses".

Samantha Mann parked her car at Farrier House in 2007 after her belongings were stolen in a city changing room. The clampers demanded the release fee and were "rude and intimidating", said Mr Potter.

She broke down in tears. Isherwood and Qadeer found her predicament amusing. When she complained to police, she was wrongly informed that it was a civil matter.

Mr Potter said victims were left "powerless, helpless, scared and stressed" by the experience. One man had to get friends out of bed in the middle of the night to help him pay the release charge.

The sentencing hearing continues today. A previous court order restricting publication has been lifted.