Collecting your car? Sort through these keys

Holidaymakers left to rummage through holdall in order to leave airport after parking firm closes

HUNDREDS of returning holidaymakers were left stranded after a car park firm closed and dumped all their car keys in a bag at an airport.

An employee from BOMO Parking is said to have turned up at Bournemouth Airport in Dorset and left a holdall containing 300 car keys at an information desk before fleeing.

Airport staff and tourists arriving home, many after long flights, were left sifting through the bag to identify individuals’ keys before setting off to find their cars, which had been parked off site. One woman had to call a locksmith to get into her vehicle when her keys could not be found.

In a statement, BOMO Parking said it had “ceased trading with immediate effect”, blaming the sudden decision on a “sustained attack” on its business that had a “catastrophic effect”. Last month, several cars parked at the firm’s compound were targeted by vandals, causing damage estimated at thousands of pounds. Valeting equipment and CCTV cameras were damaged.

John Smith, the company’s director, said he feared for his employees’ safety after the attacks. He is understood to be pursuing legal action against the individual believed to be responsible.

Paul Knight, managing director at Bournemouth Airport, said a representative from the company had deposited a holdall on an information desk and “left immediately”. He said: “Our staff are assisting affected passengers by ferrying them from the airport to collect their cars from the site. A number of passengers have already been assisted back to their cars, with this number likely to increase significantly throughout the day and coming weeks.

“Given the circumstances, we are waiving drop-off charges if they need to return to the airport to collect fellow passengers or visitors.

“We have 2,300 secure car parking spaces at the airport, with CCTV and patrols, and can accommodate extra bookings from customers who may have booked with BOMO Parking Services over the summer.”

Lisa Russell, from Southampton, returned from holiday in Malaga with her husband and two friends on Wednesday to find no trace of her car key.

“We have had no warning and no message from the company,” she said.

“We used them once before and had no problem and even when we were leaving they were very friendly – there was no worry about anything going wrong. But to come back and find that your keys have been lost and you can’t get home is really upsetting. It’s just such a shame that we’ve had a wonderful holiday and then this happens.”

Lee Skinley, who had returned from a holiday in Spain with his family, said: “It’s shocking. We have had no information from BOMO and arrived back here to be told that they have stopped trading.”

Mike Shaw, another customer, said: “Thankfully the airport staff have been really great trying to sort out collecting our car and have been so helpful – no thanks to BOMO, who have really left us stranded.”