Holidaymakers' beloved £157k BMW 'wrecked' after leaving it with meet-and-greet firm at Manchester Airport

Yahoo

24-02-2025

A couple have told how they landed back at Manchester Airport from a holiday only to find a 'meet and greet' parking firm had allegedly crashed their brand new £157,000 BMW.
After alerting police, they found their badly damaged 24-plate BMW XM crashed into a hedge close to the airport on Saturday afternoon after landing on a flight from the Czech Republic.
The couple, who the Manchester Evening News has agreed not to name, allege the 'meet and greet' parking firm crashed the hybrid petrol-electric car after they called to summon the vehicle - and that the company didn't apologise and refused to reveal its location.
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Their daughter, who was not with them at the time, told the MEN: "When they landed, they called to say they were ready for their car. But 45 minutes later there was no car and they called again. They said another car had gone into their car and to get a taxi home. They wouldn't give the location. They called the police and the police told them the location."
The couple, from Stoke-on-Trent, took a taxi and found their damaged car on Mill Lane near the junction with Castle Mill Lane in the Cheshire village of Ashley, near the airport.
Their daughter added: "They were really upset. They really loved that car. When their grandchildren went into it, they had to take their shoes off. The company just didn't care and they didn't even say sorry or that they would drive them home. They only found out where it was from the police."
Her father said: "That car means everything to me."
The Manchester Evening News called the company, which appears to be called Secure Parking Manchester, on the mobile number provided to the couple, and, after we revealed we were reporting an incident where someone from the firm appeared to have crashed the car, a man said: "I will pass it onto the office. They deal with the complaints' side and they will give you a call back mate."
No return call was received. The M.E.N. also sent an email to the address provided to the couple by the firm but there was no response.
A spokesperson for Cheshire Police confirmed they were contacted by colleagues at GMP in connection with a BMW crashing into a hedge on Mill Lane at 1.53pm on Saturday February 22.
"There were no reports of any injuries, and the vehicle was recovered from the scene," said the spokesperson.
A spokesman for GMP said officer responded to a car in a ditch. The driver provided a negative breath test and no arrests were made, said the spokesman.
Neither force mentioned a second car being involved in the incident.