Edinburgh Airport car blaze not our fault: Range Rover

THE owner of a Range Rover Evoque which caught fire two days after she parked it at Edinburgh Airport has been angered to be told there was nothing wrong with the car.

Firefighters attend the car fire at Edinburgh Airport. Picture: Lisa Ferguson

Hazel Stewart said the blaze, which destroyed the £27,000 vehicle and two adjacent cars, was the latest of a series to affect Jaguar Land Rover’s (JLR) best-selling model.

Another two cars were damaged in the incident, in a multi-storey car park in January.

Mrs Stewart said JLR told her there was no problem with the car.

She said: “They are adamant there was nothing wrong, but I just cannot accept that”.

The neo-natal nurse from Perth said she feared her house could have caught fire if the incident had happened at home, since she used to park the car close to an overhanging part of the building.

She said she was now too scared of a recurrence to park next to another Evoque.

Mrs Stewart’s car was checked last August as part of a recall of the model over a fire risk from a potential fuel leak, but no correction was required.

Her husband, Neil, said the fire may have been caused by an electrical fault.

He said: “Staff at the airport saw the fire starting under the bonnet of the Evoque, a similar pattern to that seen in similar incidents with JLR vehicles.”

Mr Stewart said previous fires included one in Warrington in 2014. Others were reported in Lockerbie the same year and in Wigan last June.

Mrs Stewart was alerted to the fire two days after parking the car and flying to France.

She returned to find the damage far worse than expected. She said: “It was quite a shock – the car was just a charred mess. There was practically nothing left.”

Mrs Stewart praised the assistance she received from airport staff. She said she had been able to make an insurance claim for the two-year-old car, bought second hand last June.

However, she said she had been upset by JLR’s response.

The company told her it was not aware of any similar incident, and said: “We do not consider this to be the result of either a design or manufacturing concern”.

Mrs Stewart said: “It’s been really frustrating – I would have expected them to take some responsibility.”

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said the cause was “undetermined” because of the severe damage involved.

Police Scotland said the fire did not appear to have been malicious.

A JLR spokesman said: “We are aware of the incident and are in contact with the customer. No further comment from us while investigations are ongoing.”