A row has erupted over a car clamping operation on a piece of land with no official owner.

Notice on a BT telegraph pole in Tarring, Worthing, said any car found parked on an access road leading to a train station and housing estate would be clamped and liable to pay a release fee of £75.

Warning leaflets have also been placed on the windscreens of private cars.

But the land at the junction of Cranmer Road and St Dunstan's Road has been unused for several years and is classified as "untitled" by the Land Registry.

The area has parking problems and residents often struggle to find space outside their homes. The threat of clamping has meant about eight of the increasingly rare parking spots have not been available for almost two months.

Bob Smytherman, a borough councillor for Tarring, said several residents had approached him about the sign which he believed to be unlawful.

He said: "The land has been a mystery piece of land since as long as anyone can remember.

"When I heard about the sign I just knew there was something dodgy about it. It is a premium piece of land as people can't park around their house in this area."

He discovered the sign broke several regulations. It did not state who the clampers were working for, a legal requirement, and was attached to a BT pole which was also not allowed. There was just a lone mobile number claiming to belong to the landowner.

He called the police, trading standards and the Security Industry Authority (SIA) who he said confirmed the sign did not fit the regulations and could not confirm this was an authorised clamper. He also contacted BT, who removed the sign from its pole last week.

Coun Smytherman rang the mobile number on the notice and found himself speaking to Ray Brown, who explained the land had been recently bought.

He asked if he could prove he was the owner and send a SIA certificate to prove a legal right to clamp vehicles but received nothing in the two months that followed.

When The Argus contacted Mr Brown he said the land was owned by Coleford Properties in Gloucestershire and declined to comment about the fact it wasn't registered. He said: "An official sign will be going up in the next week or so.

"That strip of land is being leased back to the local community as customer parking for about six cars. After 5pm and at weekends when it will not be used for customers the residents will be able to park on it."

Coun Smytherman said: "If they are letting residents park out-of-hours that is good news. But I am not convinced they actually own the land in the first place."

A BT spokeswoman said: "We do not allow anything to be attached to our poles and will follow up anyone who puts something there."