Man bailed after arson arrest over Gatwick car park fire that destroyed 140 cars
A 67-year-old man has been arrested and bailed on suspicion of arson after a fire destroyed around 140 vehicles in a car park used by Gatwick Airport passengers in Crawley.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
A 67-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of arson after a fire destroyed around 140 vehicles in a car park used by Gatwick Airport passengers. The fire broke out at about 9pm on Saturday evening at a site in Crawley, West Sussex. It has since been extinguished, but a police cordon remains in place, leaving many car owners unable to access their vehicles.
The car park is not run by Gatwick Airport itself but by a third-party company, Sapphire. A spokesperson for Sapphire said the incident had been traumatic for the company as well as for customers, many of whom were returning from holidays to find their cars damaged or destroyed. The company said it had not yet been able to access the site, so the full extent of the damage is still unknown.
The man arrested has been bailed pending further inquiries. Police are appealing for witnesses or anyone with information about how the fire started to come forward.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, mapped by channel. Ordered by how many channels carried each claim.
| Claim | ITV |
|---|---|
| A 67-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of arson. | |
| Around 140 cars were damaged or destroyed in the fire. | |
| The car park is run by a third-party company called Sapphire, not Gatwick Airport. |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
The report focuses on the ongoing police cordon and the uncertainty for car owners, as well as the role of the third-party operator Sapphire. It highlights the arrest and bail, and the police appeal. The tone is factual but with a human interest angle, noting the trauma for customers and the company.
- “A 67-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of arson after 140 vehicles were destroyed at a car park used by Gatwick Airport passengers.”
- “Now that has been extinguished but as you can see behind me the police cordon does remain in place”
- “they themselves haven't been able to get access to the site yet so at this point they still don't know the extent of the damage inside.”
Broadcast Timeline
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