THE Mayor of Middlesbrough was caught in a tight spot when he found his Smart car clamped following an official function.

A wheel clamper had spotted the distinctive two-seater car illegally parked when Mr Mallon was opening Great Expectations nursery in Monklands Close, Middlesbrough, on Monday.

The former detective, famed for his zero tolerance approach to policing, went outside to find his official car clamped by private firm Hadrian Traffic Management.

However, the mayor managed to avoid paying the £100 to have the clamp removed after he explained he was on official council business.

The official explanation from Middlesbrough Council was that the nursery had not yet obtained parking permits for its private spaces and the parking company had accepted its mistake.

Council spokesman Mike Clark said: "After a brief discussion with the clamping company involved, the matter was resolved amicably. The mayor was there on official business, doing something to benefit the community, and he explained that to the clamping company, who took the decision to remove the clamp."

Witness Olive Waugh, 82, was not impressed. She said: "Why should they take his clamp off? He should be like everybody else and pay the money."

The company usually charges £100 to remove a wheel clamp or £225 if the car has been towed away. An extra charge of £25 is accrued each day the car is held in storage.

Hadrian traffic manager Joe Osborn said: "It was his (the clamper's) first catch, not a bad one. It doesn't matter who you are, you could be the chief superintendent of Cleveland Police or the mayor of Middlesbrough - everyone is treated the same.

"If we have made a mistake, as we had in this case, we will take the clamp off straight away, but it was quite funny to see Robocop get clamped."

It has been a testing 12-months for Mr Mallon's motoring experience. In September last year, he was fined £60 and received three penalty points on his driver's licence after he was caught doing 75mph through roadworks on the M6