131mph!
Driver’s shock at airport valet’s spin in £50k Audi
A HOLIDAYMAKER dropped his new £50,000 Audi off with an airport parking valet – who then took it on a 131mph joyride.
Sean Beckerleg, 30, left his vehicle with a drop- off service at Gatwick before flying to Portugal for a week.
But when he returned and checked his dashcam he saw his five-month-old Audi S3 had been ‘thrashed’ at more than twice the 50mph speed limit.
He said: ‘As far as I was concerned I’d gone on holiday and my car was safe.
‘I was pretty annoyed when he did 70mph in a 30mph zone.
‘But when I saw him doing 131mph in a 50mph zone I was livid.’ The valet has now been sacked.
Footage clearly shows the speeding offence took place at 5.15pm on October 15 – 45 minutes after chef Mr Beckerleg left his car with parking service valets at Gatwick’s North Terminal.
Initially the rogue meet-andgreet driver stays well within the 20mph limit.
But after negotiating a series of roundabouts he accelerates to 77mph in a matter of seconds. The car then hits 131mph as he pulls out of an underpass before dropping the car in a secure location close to the North Terminal.
Just before parking, the offending driver gets out to open a security gate – and is clearly caught on camera. Hopping out again after parking he can be heard saying: ‘Nice! Very nice!’
Mr Beckerleg, of Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, said: ‘As soon as anyone switches my car on, [the dashcam] starts recording and it logs lots of different types of information from GPS, g-force, the miles per hour, the date, time, everything.
‘I can even live stream the video to my phone if I want.’
He added: ‘The roads were clear, but that’s irrelevant. I could have ended up with a speeding ticket or ban without even doing anything wrong.’ The chef, who was on holiday with his partner Marta Grunte, 21, and 18-month-old daughter Chloe, said: ‘You entrust them with your car, that it’s parked away safely and in an orderly manner. I was not happy – it’s only done 3,000 miles. ‘What was even worse is at the end he clearly says, “Nice! Very nice!” and he’s talking about my car that he’s just thrashed.’ Mr Beckerleg says his Audi was not damaged and he was initially offered a £70 refund and two weeks’ free parking, which he declined. He said he was also told officials would offer the driver in question extra training. He is considering sending the footage to the police, who have already been informed of the incident by airport car park operator Empark. Gatwick yesterday said Empark had failed to come up to expected standards and offered an apology. A spokesman added: ‘The staff member has been identified and has been dismissed.’