A cowboy car park operation has been shut down by police after a number of holidaymakers arrived home to find their cars dumped hundreds of miles away.
The car park in Styal, Cheshire, was forced to close following a crackdown on the airport meet and greet car parking firms near Manchester Airport.
It came after an increase in the number of holidaymakers reporting issues relating to car parks near the airport including car thefts and criminal damage.
Drivers also reported returning home from holiday to find their cars had been driven hundreds, even thousands, of miles away while they had been on holiday.
Cheshire Police said many of the complaints related to a makeshift car park that had been set up in the grounds of a former country house at Lode Hill in Styal.
In a bid to address the issues, officers from Cheshire Police and Greater Manchester Police, along with partner agency staff, visited the car park on June 21. Since then, police have been in contact with the owner of the car park, who had agreed to remove the current tenants, meaning the Lode Hill car park will be permanently closed.
The final cars were removed from the site last week, and the owner of the land has now taken responsibility for the site, police said.
Inspector Andrew Baker, Beat Manager at Macclesfield Local Policing Unit, said: “This is an absolutely fantastic result both for holidaymakers and for the local community, and I would like to thank the owner of this site for their co-operation.
“The car park that was operating from the site was simply not fit for purpose and not what customers thought that they were paying for.
"Many people using this car park made their bookings through online comparison sites, believing that they were booking professional, secure airport parking which are linked to the airport," Mr Baker told the Liverpool Echo.
“In reality, the Lode Hill site had no affiliation to the airport whatsoever, and the cars were simply dumped in muddy fields. Not only that, but the site also had a hugely detrimental impact on local the community.”
Inspector Baker added: “While this car park has now been closed, there are still other rogue car parks operating in the region. Therefore, I would encourage anyone who is planning their holiday and looking to book a parking slot, to do their research, choose a reputable company and always book through an official website and don’t just go for the cheapest option.”
A Manchester Airport spokesperson added: “We are grateful to Cheshire Constabulary and its partner agencies for the work they are doing to tackle this issue and will continue to work with them to raise awareness of the risks posed by booking airport parking through these unscrupulous companies.
“In addition to our own official parking products, there are a number of reliable and reputable third-party providers located near the airport and we would always urge passengers to do their research before handing over their keys.
“We encourage customers to use initiatives such as Park Mark and the government-backed Buy with Confidence scheme to find a provider that has undergone a series of detailed checks and is committed to trading fairly.”
