Holiday families return to find 130 car keys stolen

HORRIFIED families have returned from holidays abroad to find their cars stolen after a raid on a “meet and greet” airport parking company.

Police confirmed at least four cars were taken from a depot which boasts of being secure – along with the keys to 130 other vehicles.

One owner who left her house keys and insurance papers bearing her address in her car was also the victim of an attempted burglary.

Up to 50 families have still not been contacted by Car Park Manchester to tell them their keys have been taken for fear of “ruining” their breaks.

Sultan Khan, the 23-year-old director of the firm based near Manchester Airport, said: “Seven weeks ago an organised crime gang came into this area and started nicking car keys.

“On August 17 they used a special tool and got through three doors to steal keys. Thieves have been on site every night since trying to steal cars.”

Annoyed

He added: “We are fully insured and probably the most secure independent car park at the airport. But we are not geared up for organised gangs who have planned this for months.”

The firm insisted extra security was in place but a Daily Express reporter went unchallenged as he drove on to the site yesterday. Luxury cars were parked down a muddy, potholed lane and workers were sat drinking tea.

Mother-of-two Leanne Wadsworth’s £14,500 Renault Clio was taken while she was on holiday in Greece with partner Ashley Baud and sons Oliver, 11, and Mason, nine.

Leanne, of Huddersfield, West Yorks, said the firm told her the car was moved to an area with no CCTV. She said: “I’m really annoyed.”

Kate Gerrard came home from Turkey to find her £21,000 VW Golf R had been stolen last weekend.

Mrs Gerrard, 35, said the firm at first claimed the keys were misplaced but when she came back with a spare set they admitted the car was gone.

Georgina Firth’s £15,000 Audi A4 was taken from the site after she paid Leanne Wadsworth on family holiday Kate Gerrard’s £21,000 car was stolen £82 for it to be looked after while she was on a family break in Menorca.

House keys which were left in it were later used to enter her home in Penrhyn Bay, North Wales, but son Nathan, 17, chased the crooks away.

Greater Manchester Police said a man of 21 arrested on suspicion of vehicle theft and drink-driving had been bailed pending inquiries.

Police are also separately probing the theft of four Mercedes from an airport car park site in Styal, Cheshire. Cars left at the ‘meet and greet’ firm’s car park site one mile from the airport in Altrincham. Some cars have been stolen while their owners were on holiday.