Despair is growing among Brits who parked their vehicles inside the £20 million car park that caught fire at Luton airport – as they fear they may not be able to get access to them for weeks.
Chris Meacey’s Unfortunate Wait:
A Relieved Discovery Chris Meacey, 57, was relieved to discover his white Ford Custom van sits undamaged having parked it in the ill-fated Terminal Car Park 2 that caught alight after a Range Rover exploded at around 9 pm on Tuesday night.
Unforeseen Delays But Mr. Meacey has since learned he will be unable to retrieve his car for some time as there is ‘no floor in front of it’ – after the blaze caused much of the parking structure to collapse.
Subheading: Uncertain Wait The van is parked meters away from where three levels of the car park crumbled under the pressure of the fire.
Mr. Meacey, who works for a washing machine firm, is now expecting to wait at least two weeks before the vehicle will be returned to him – if at all.
Matthew’s Prompt Insurance Response:
A Quick Getaway Interrupted Meanwhile, Matthew, his 21-year-old daughter Emily, and her friend drove to Luton on Monday to fly to Costa Blanca.
The two women left a Vauxhall Corsa SXi at 4 am that morning on the roof of Car Park 2 on route to a quick getaway to Spain.
A Smooth Insurance Process Matthew said, ‘The insurance company (Hastings Direct) has been really brilliant today and despite not knowing for sure have accepted a total loss claim and paid out to Emily the full replacement cost. Continuing the Holiday Yesterday the pair were able to get on with their holiday on the Costa Blanca.
Amanda’s Additional Flight:
Flight Cancellation and Added Costs ‘My fiancé Amanda Joyce was due to join us this morning but her flight was cancelled.
Ryanair offered her a flight on Friday which would be too late, so she ended up paying for an additional flight from Gatwick and she has now joined us tonight.’
Hoping for Reimbursement They added: ‘We had two cars paid for in parking – Emily’s was £168 and Amanda’s about £120 which we hope to get back. The flight from Gatwick was £116 and train to Gatwick £45 plus taxi to station £24.
When we get back together we will need to get a cab back to Milton Keynes.’
Thomas’ Uncertainty:
Car Bonnet Alert Another driver, named Thomas, is growing anxious after he parked his Mercedes in Terminal Car Park 2 – receiving a notification on Mercedes Me at 00.30 am on the morning of the fire that his car bonnet had opened.
No News About His Car He told MailOnline: ‘I’m currently away and I parked on the second floor. I have no info if my car survived.’ At 00.30 am, I got a message from Mercedes Me that my car bonnet is open!’
Liz and Gary Blackmore’s Loss:
Devastation in Mid-Air Liz and Gary Blackmore, of Loughborough, were coming back from a five-day holiday to Portugal on Tuesday night and had parked their Mercedes-AMG CLA Shooting Brake on the top floor of Luton’s new parking structure.
Sudden Diversion The couple were on a flight back to Luton when they heard about the blaze from the captain, who had to make a last-minute diversion to Gatwick.
A Heartbreaking Loss Mrs. Blackmore, 57, told MailOnline: ‘We’re devastated.
The car was less than a year old and my daughter has taken the other car, so now we’re left with no car. We’re horrified.’