Luton Airport fire: Northants man still without car

Andrew Miller says he has had to sort everything out himself after his car was destroyed at Luton Airport

A disabled man who needs a specially-adapted car says he is still without a vehicle three weeks after his car was destroyed in the fire at Luton Airport.

Andrew Miller from Northamptonshire was one of around 1,500 drivers whose vehicles went up in flames.

He says he has had very little support and has had to "sort it all out myself".

His insurance company has settled his claim and waived the excess.

More than 100 firefighters were needed to tackle the fire on level three of the Terminal 2 car park at Luton Airport on 10 October.

The airport said at the time that it was unlikely any of the 1,500 vehicles in the car park would be salvageable.

For Andrew Miller, the loss of his specially-adapted car - which he had left at the airport while he went on holiday to Ireland - has meant a loss of independence.

The huge fire in Car Park 2 at Luton Airport destroyed hundreds of cars, including Mr Miller's specially-adapted Citroen

He told BBC Radio Northampton that he felt people with disabilities were left to fend for themselves when they arrived back at the airport to find their cars had been destroyed.

"I was put into a taxi by the chaplain of Luton Airport, but it was a real concern to me that very few measures were put in place to provide any bespoke support.

"That continued through my insurer not being able to supply me with a courtesy car since the fire to get me mobile and I've been left to sort everything out myself basically."

He added that he had relied on his husband Tim to get him to places he needed to go, although he had to miss a funeral and some meetings.

His insurance company has now settled his claim following some negotiation and after Mr Miller had put a message on social media saying that he had been unable to contact them.

He will not, however, be able to get another car for at least another week. The model he had is no longer in production, so he and his husband have been travelling across the country trying to find a replacement, which "takes a lot of time and energy".

The car park had a capacity of 1,600 vehicles

He said that changes should have been made following a similar incident in Liverpool in 2017. "There were calls for sprinklers to be made mandatory after that, but it's clear that the lessons after that fire have not been learned.

"Between these two fires, 2,500 drivers have had their lives turned upside down dealing with the challenging consequences, whether you're disabled or not.

"Car park managers haven't acted on the lessons of Liverpool and there's no guarantee they will post Luton, so this matter really should be for politicians to intervene and legislate on."