Airport valet lost my £105k Range Rover while I was on holiday – now cops think it’s in SPAIN
A MAN was left fuming after his £105,000 Range Rover was stolen from an airport car park while he was on holiday.
Alan Powell, 51, dropped his car at Luton Airport Priority Parking on April 10 before jetting off to Spain with his wife and mother-in-law.
The next day Alan got an alert on an app for his Range Rover Sport SVR, saying it has been stolen, because the tracker had been taken off.
By then, his pricey motor had already been driven more than 50 miles.
When Alan rang the car park – which has been given a Park Mark by the Safer Parking Scheme in the UK – he claimed he had to tell them his motor had disappeared before they confirmed its absence.
Cops and the vehicle manufacturers can find no further trace of the Range Rover and Alan has been told it may even have been shipped abroad by crooks already.
Alan branded the situation a “nightmare”, adding: “If I left the car in any old car park I wouldn’t be crying about it, but then I leave it with the official car park that is why I’m upset.”
Police have since told him the car’s keys were cloned and it was last tracked to a street in the Isle of Dogs, East London, before the tracker was removed by the thieves.
Alan, from Milton Keynes, says he paid about £180 to leave his luxury car in good hands before travelling to spend a week in Torrevieja.
He told the Mirror: “The police informed me that the key was cloned and that the tracker has been taken off they don’t expect to find it.
“It’s the airport car parks’ attitude that is unbelievable. You put trust and pay a lot of money to park there, but the truth is if I had my key then my car would still be in the car park.
Before jetting off on holiday, Alan dropped his car off at about 5.30am where he said he had to hand the car park operators his key for safekeeping.
A day later, the tracker for the car, which is installed by Land Rover, subsequently notified him that it may have been stolen.
When he phoned Bedfordshire Police, they spoke with Land Rover who provided information on where the vehicle was.
On April 11 it was shown to be in the area of Stebondale Street in East London, about 54 miles away from the priority car park.
In correspondence seen by the outlet between Bedfordshire Police and Alan, Metropolitan Police were sent out to the area but couldn’t find the vehicle.
Cops said Land Rover provides daily checks on “outstanding vehicles” to try and get a response from the trackers on the car, which has so far “proved negative”.
The email adds: “We have placed a marker on the vehicle so if it is driven on the correct index plates it will activate the ANPR camera system which will then give any police force in England and Wales a location, at this time there have been no ANPR hits.
“It is possible that the thieves have deactivated the tracker or already shipped it abroad and therefore preventing any attempt to retrieve it.”
Alan, who has been left stunned by the ordeal, said: “It’s just disgusting. The reason I am talking is I don’t want anyone else to have to go through this.
“I’m going to be carless – my insurance company is giving me a car for 14 days.
“From the second day of my holiday, it’s been a nightmare.”
An APCOA spokesperson said: “Theft of high-value luxury vehicles via key cloning is a well-documented issue.
“APCOA takes the security of vehicles parked in our car parks very seriously and we have a number of measures in place including CCTV, number plate recognition cameras and regular patrols by parking staff, airport security and police. In addition, vehicle keys are stored securely.
“We have been in contact with Mr Powell to provide information and support and are assisting the police investigation.”