A man was charged a staggering £460 to recover his car after it was towed away from the car park of a Surbiton office building.

The man, who does not want to be named, recently had his car taken from the car park of Endeavour House, in Cambridge Road.

He claimed that clampers, Area Parking Control, gave him a mouthful of abuse when he called them, and refused to tell him where his car was.

The next day he was told the car was in north London. When he arrived, he encountered a junk yard with barbed wire and barking dogs. Although a lone woman served him, he claimed that two men came to look him over soon after he arrived. His largest gripe, however, was the massive £460 bill.

I couldnt believe how much they charged. It would have been £85 less if they had told me where the car was in time for me to pick it up that day.

A spokesman for Area Parking Control would not comment on the case without details, but she did say that the charge did not surprise her because release fees ranged from £230 upward.

She added that it may not have been known immediately where the car was heading and that would be the only reason why he was not told where his car was. She denied that Area staff would have been abusive to Mr Hill over the phone.

Another employee said: People dont like us because we clamp cars and take money. We know this. We are not here to make friends.

Unit Management, who run Endeavour House and employ the clampers, refused to comment on the situation.