WATCH: Peterborough's The Apprentice winner stages car fine protest to highlight threat to entrepreneurs

Peterborough’s BBC The Apprentice winner and business owner Joseph Valente took to the road to highlight what he says is the unfairness of Government action towards entrepreneurs.​

Mr Valente, who employs about 100 people at Trade Mastermind, based at the Brightfield Business Hub in Bakewell Road, Orton Southgate, and won the TV reality show in 2015, plastered his car in hundreds of fake parking fine notices before driving it into a large car park in the city.

He said: “I decided to do a protest to show that being successful in this country makes you a target.

"The aim was simply to showcase the divide – that this government backs people that don’t do anything for the economy but they target the ones that do.”

Mr Valente covered his car with hundreds of fake penalty notices and then drove into a car park before parking near other penalty notice-free vehicles.

He said: "We had a huge reaction from the public who took lots of photos and videos and wanted to know what was going on.”

Mr Valente, who plans to invest £10 million in his Peterborough business next year and recruit 50 staff, said: “I feel that the more business owners and entrepreneurs create, the more this current government wants to take from us.

"We literally create the economy and create the jobs and launch the products and services and yet we are penalised for it.

"Increasing National Insurance, Capital Gains, Inheritance tax – it’s just constantly taxing the successful. There is too much uncertainty about the economy now.

"But it is the successful who create the economy.

"It is frustrating for me to see that the hard work done by so many great business owners and entrepreneurs is being penalised.

"Personally, I have had enough. We need a government that backs business and entrepreneurs or we are all going to leave.”

Just weeks ago, Mr Valente created the Entrepreneurs Shadow Government which he says aims to hold the Government accountable for its actions and ensure the country retains its top talent.