OB Jessica Mortimer and OB Harrison Woods (2008)

It is not normally the most popular of professions, but entrepreneurs, Old Girl Jessica Mortimer (2008) and Old Boy Harrison Woods (2008) have a car clamper to thank for inspiring their new business venture.

The cousins, both 19 were shopping in Manchester when they were faced with a fine after unknowingly parking in a reserved space. They wondered if there was a more convenient way for businesses to prevent people from parking on their land rather than punishing them after the event with an expensive and inconvenient clamp.

After looking at the options online, they realised that the products on the market were expensive, difficult to install and inconvenient to operate. They hit upon a Chinese device that seemed to offer the solution and, quickly moved to secure a license as sole distributor in the UK.

Harrison said "Manual bollards require a lot of ground work to fit and are a pain to use, especially in the rain. Clampers generally charge an annual fee where they commit to reacting to a parking transgression within half an hour, so they are reacting to an existing problem. Our solution stops the problem at the root".

The Parking Guardian is a better-powered barrier that drops to allow entry when activated from inside a car. It provides a physical block to any vehicles wanting to pass and can be operated from up to 30 metres away.