Yes, ours broke and we used 50mm jubilee clips and to be honest they work better than the originals as they can be removed easily and cost next to nothing.I noticed Ian and Adam tried to remove as well .....
Front suspension overhaul
The last couple of days were spent renewing the components on the front of my sons A2 1.4i, this is a pig of a job and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. We started at 3pm on Friday, worked until 9.30pm, then Saturday 9.30am to 8pm, Sunday was just about tidying and finishing the little bits...www.a2oc.net
Andy