My BMW told me it had been crashed at airport while I was in the US

A DAD'S £30,000 BMW was written off after it was crashed by Manchester Airport valet staff in a multi-storey car park.

- PAUL BRITTON

Andrew Swindells, 47, handed over the keys to his BMW One Series after paying just short of £100 for the airport's valet-style 'meet and greet' parking service before jetting off to the US for a business trip.

But he told the M.E.N. how the car's on-board telemetry system alerted him via his mobile phone to a 'serious collision' - as he was sat down having dinner in Chicago days later. He was then called by BMW to ask him if he was all right and tell him to pull over immediately.

On arrival back in Manchester, Andrew, from Widnes, Cheshire, said the airport has now settled with his insurers but he was critical of the level of customer service he got from the airport. The airport, meanwhile, has also now apologised.

The car was bought second-hand by Andrew 12 months ago at three months old. The father-of-two, an IT product manager who regularly flies abroad on business, likened the scenes at the airport to 'something out of Only Fools and Horses!