Woman finds car 'floating in 2ft of water' at Manchester Airport after holiday
Woman finds car 'floating in 2ft of water' at Manchester Airport after holiday
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Woman finds car 'floating in 2ft of water' at Manchester Airport after holiday

Helena Vesty,Megan Banner 🕒︎ 2025-10-22

Copyright manchestereveningnews

Woman finds car 'floating in 2ft of water' at Manchester Airport after holiday

A woman was left in "absolute bits" after returning from a "fantastic" 10-day holiday to find her car submerged in "two feet" of rainwater at Manchester Airport . Sharon Rainford, 55, from Formby, flew to Turkey with her husband Nick, 65, for a break earlier this month. The couple had a "great time" and returned to the UK on September 21, only to discover Sharon's "loved" Ford Focus amid a heavily-flooded car park. The vehicle had been parked in JetPark 3 Car Park at Manchester Airport. Sharon said she has now been left "covering expenses". Never miss a story with the MEN's daily Catch Up newsletter - get it in your inbox by signing up here She said: "We got off the shuttle bus at the car park at around 1.30pm and started to walk to my car. First, we noticed a big truck with yellow lights on near to where we'd left the car. And, then we realised the car park was flooded. "There were cars sat there and they were trying to pump the water away. We couldn't get to my vehicle, which was parked on the back row, it was under 2ft of water. "The man operating the truck kindly lent my husband a pair of wellies and he waded through the water to my car. He managed to open the door to find water in every footwell of my car. "It was sopping wet. You would have needed wellies to sit on the back seats." Images and videos of the vehicle show the Ford Focus surrounded by floodwater, with one picture of the inside of the car showing soaked footwells. Sharon says she was told by car park staff that there had been an overnight "biblical rainfall" that had caused to the flooding. Manchester Airport Group has apologised, saying it was a "freak storm", reports the Liverpool Echo . Bosses said the area is not typically prone to floods and that discussions were underway about what to do next. The Met Office had issued a warning for heavy rain expected to batter Greater Manchester over a 21-hour span last weekend. The yellow-coded warning alerted people to potential 'transport disruption and flooding', with Saturday (September 20) forecasted to bring persistent showers. The torrential rain forced several restaurants to shut their doors due to flooding. Sharon claims car park staff instructed the couple to take a taxi home, assuring them that the airport would cover the fare, and promised to contact them once the water had been cleared so they could retrieve their car. They were reportedly advised to fill out an online complaints form via the Manchester Airport website, which they did while in a black cab on the way back to their Formby home, costing £140. Sharon added: "We got home and I could settle. I couldn't stop thinking about my poor car sitting there floating. I needed to do something. "Anyone who knows me knows how much I love my car. It's a Ford Focus ST and to most people it would be a piece of s*** but to me it's my Rolls Royce." Sharon contacted her car insurance company Aviva Zero. She said she was told they would recover it that night and gave her a time slot to meet the recovery driver at the vehicle. They drove back to Manchester Airport for 9pm, the allotted time, in Nick's car however when they arrived they discovered the water had still not been cleared. Upon arrival, the recovery company told Sharon they could not recover the car until the water had cleared. Sharon said: "My husband was wearing his fishing waders and I had my wellies on so we managed to wade to my car. We didn't attempt to start the engine because we didn't know if it would cause any damage. "We turned the ignition on and the lights came on, the window wipers worked so electrically it was fine. "We managed to push it to dry land and called the insurance company to get the recovery people to come back and recover the car. Eventually they came and we left without my vehicle." Sharon claims she is waiting for her insurance to decide the fate of her vehicle and is disappointed with Manchester Airport's response. She says she's had no apology or reimbursement on expenses she has had to pay out since the car flooded. Get news, views and analysis of the biggest stories with the daily Mancunian Way newsletter - sign up here She said: "I paid them £89 to look after my car. It's not like I just popped to Tesco , they had it for ten days. I'm now left with no vehicle, no courtesy car and I'm just left in limbo. "Not only am I losing money on my car but I'm having to get family members to take me to work and back every day because I have no other way of getting there, which means they're paying out money too. I've not even had a sorry." A spokesperson for Manchester Airport stated: "Over the weekend extremely heavy rainfall caused widespread flooding across Manchester and the surrounding areas and it affected part of one of our car parks. We used specialist pumping equipment to clear the water as quickly as possible but a number of cars were affected. "Staff have been positioned in the area to speak to passengers returning to their cars and advise them of the next steps to take. We apologise for any inconvenience."

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