Nan told she was at fault by insurance firm after airport fire destroyed car

Cath Glaze said losing her car was ‘traumatic and upsetting’ (Picture: Facebook / PA)

A woman was left shocked after she was told the loss of her car in the Luton Airport fire was her fault.

Grandma Cath Glaze, and her husband Martyn, had been in Portugal and left their vehicle at the Bedfordshire airport while they were on holiday.

Her car is now one of the 1,500 left inside the burnt-out structure which are unlikely to be salvageable.

Many UK travellers were left in limbo after the blaze on October 10, and Cath said losing her car was ‘traumatic and upsetting’.

She told The Mirror that although EasyJet and Luton Airport were good at keeping them updated, her insurer rejected her claim and said she was considered ‘at fault’ over the loss.

She said: ‘We contacted our insurance – who wouldn’t supply us with a courtesy car as they are assuming our car has been written off – but 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.

‘This has been very traumatic and upsetting for us. We bought our car new, have had it serviced regularly, and weren’t planning to change it for the foreseeable future, as it’s been a very reliable car and has low mileage.

‘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.’

The grandma, and her husband Martyn, had left their vehicle at the Bedfordshire airport while they were on holiday in Portugal (Picture: Facebook)

Her car is now one of the 1,500 left inside the burnt-out structure which are unlikely to be salvageable (Picture: Harpenden Fire Station)

Cath said she was also told she would lose her no-claims bonus over the fire.

Their settlement offer of £7,000 is £13,000 less than what she paid for the car seven years ago.

Luton Airport said it had passed on the details of 1,405 cars to the Motor Insurer’s Bureau.

Operations director Neil Thompson said in a statement: ‘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.’

He said he could not give a ‘definitive timeline’ for the completion of the assessment.

Bedfordshire Police said yesterday a man in his 30s was arrested on suspicion of criminal damage as investigations continue over the circumstances of the fire.

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