Two arrested in police crackdown on rogue Manchester Airport 'meet and greet' parking firms

Two people have been arrested at a car park near Manchester Airport during a crackdown on "rogue" meet and greet firms. Officers today swooped on two sites in Styal, Cheshire, just three from the airport after55 complaints in just six months.

They include reports of cars being stolen, damaged, and even driven thousands of miles. One traveller said they returned from an eight-week trip to find 3,000 had been added to their mileage clock. Another said their bonnet had been stolen whilst there was a fire at one site in May where a number of cars were reported to have been damaged.

READ MORE: Woman goes into labour, police called on board and a 10 hour delay... passenger describes TUI flight from hell

Holidaymakers have often found the firms through online comparison sites, giving the impression that they are booking with professional, secure airport parking linked to the airport, Cheshire Police say.

Whereas in reality, the firms have no affiliation to the airport whosever and cars are often being left on muddy fields or on residential streets whilst their owners are away.

In April, around 150 people coming home from trips returned to find their cars trapped in a boggy field in Styal, with the keys missing and the firm they booked with not answering calls.

Officers were eventually able to resolve that and reunite their owners with their keys and allow them to drive them away.

However they said the firms, and their practices, were, despite sometimes not being illegal, were having "a hugely detrimental impact on local residents and holidaymakers alike and placing unnecessary pressure on local police officers".

In response, they launched Operation Cicaro - a multi-agency crackdown on such rogue firms. More than 50 people