Grandmother whose car was destroyed in Luton Airport fire says insurance company told her it was her fault

24 October 2023, 07:39 | Updated: 24 October 2023, 15:41

Police investigating a fire that destroyed over 1,000 cars at Luton Airport have arrested a man on suspicion of criminal damage.

The Luton fire, which broke out on level three of the airport's multi-storey car park, is thought to have started in a diesel car and spread rapidly, causing structural damage and destroying as many as 1,500 cars.

Some 235 flights were cancelled, affecting around 40,000 passengers.

Read More: Grandmother whose car was destroyed in Luton Airport fire says insurance company finally admits it wasn't her fault

Cath Glaze and her husband Martyn had left their £9,500 vehicle in the car park while they went on holiday to Portugal.

They contacted their insurer after the car was destroyed in the fire, but were shocked to be told that they could be considered at fault.

Ms Glaze told the Mirror: "We contacted our insurance...[who] have now given us a final settlement offer, which is lower than what we need to buy a comparable vehicle and doesn't include value for personal items.

"We now don't have access to a vehicle, so it's very difficult to do our normal day-to-day activities such as shopping, helping with the grandchildren, or going to test drive potential new cars."

Ms Glaze also said that the company had not given her a company car and said the couple's no-claim bonus could be affected. She said that she was given a payout of just £7,000.

Airport bosses said they had passed on the details of 1,405 cars to the Motor Insurer's Bureau.

Luton's operations director Neil Thompson said: "We are continuing to focus on the safety and integrity of the car park.

"This will enable us to carry out a full assessment which, as we have previously said, can only happen once safety can be assured.

"We are continuing to work incredibly hard to provide insurers with this information as quickly as we can to assist them so, in turn, they can help those affected as quickly as possible."

It comes after police said on Monday that they had arrested a man in connection with the fire.

A spokesman for Bedfordshire Police said: "Police last week arrested a man in his 30s on suspicion of criminal damage in connection to their investigation into a significant fire in a car park at London Luton Airport on Tuesday (10 October).

"We are carrying out a thorough and diligent investigation into all potential lines of enquiry, as should be expected after such a major event.

"The man has been released on bail while our enquiries continue."