Snow woes for motorists who say the weather forced them to abandon their vehicles were compounded when they came back to claim their cars - and found they had been clamped.
The miffed motorists say they decided to leave their vehicles in the car park of Winchester's Roebuck Inn overnight, judging it a safe place after heavy snow had brought roads to a standstill.
But when they returned, three drivers discovered they had been hit with fines of up to £157.
Winchester man Warren Kitley told BBC News that being clamped was bad enough, but the "salt in the wound" was hanging around in the cold for four hours while waiting for his car to be released.
But the security firm which clamped the cars on Monday night has defended its actions in a statement on its website.
Cobra Security struck out at the "extremely inconsiderate" people who it said were giving the "proverbial two fingers" to the owner of the land.
The company said that the car park was clearly signposted, telling motorists what to expect.
"If you need to abandon your car then surely you would have to be daft to dump it on a site with clamping in operation," the statement said.
"This is bad enough, but to then moan when you get clamped is ridiculous."
