Gardai said they are investigating the incident in Bray
This is the remarkable moment a man used an angle grinder to remove a wheel clamp from a parked car near a busy courthouse.
The man returned to the dark saloon he had been travelling in just before lunchtime to find that clampers operating in a Bray car park had clamped it.
Rather than paying the hefty release fee, the man instead sourced the cutter and removed the clamp.
The incident happened last week in the car park that is used by those working in the court or in town on business.
Sparks were seen coming off the angle grinder as the man cut the chains on the clamp. The man, who was not the driver of the car, then had to wait for the driver before they left the scene.
Gardai arrived shortly afterwards and made inquiries. Gardai are investigating the incident now.
A witness told the Herald that the man was able to remove the clamp in only a few minutes, but had taken some time to decide on his course of action.
“The man with the grinder wasn’t the driver, but he did have the keys,” said the witness.
“The car was parked in a spot that wasn’t a parking space and he was half blocking the road. He drew more attention to himself by the way he was acting before he decided to cut off the clamp.”
The incident happened on the busy main street, where many gardai would have been attending the nearby court. Gardai later took the clamp away as evidence.
A person who is caught removing a clamp can be prosecuted for criminal damage.
Laura Larkin