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Manchester Marathon runner cannot find car after nine days

Wolverhampton man Jason Matthews cannot remember exactly where he left his black Saab 93 Sport before running 26-mile race on Sunday, April 19

Jason Matthews has still not found what he was lookin for, in this case his Saab similar to the one pictured
Jason Matthews has still not found what he was lookin for, in this case his Saab similar to the one pictured Credit: Photo: MEN/ALAMY

A marathon runner who parked his car to take part in the Manchester race has been unable to find it - nine days after the event.

Jason Matthews, from Wolverhampton, left his black Saab 93 Sport somewhere near Old Trafford, but cannot remember exactly where.

The 40-year-old spent hours searching for the vehicle after running the race on Sunday, April 19, in a time of five hours and 11 minutes.

He even ended up walking back around some of the 26-mile course, before driving around in a taxi for 40 minutes and then going to a police station, all to no avail.

Eventually, he had to give up and get the train home to the Midlands. Mr Matthews has been unable to trace his car since.

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Manchester council said there is no record of the vehicle - registration number LA54 CSV, with a silver bike rack - being towed or impounded.

Mr Matthews, a delivery driver for a builder's merchants, said: "I don't think it's been stolen - I think I just can't find it."

He believes he came into Manchester up Princess Parkway and then onto the Mancunian Way, before taking the A56 towards Trafford. He then remembers driving past Old Trafford on his left, before finding a car park in a side street near a small office block.

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Jason Matthews believed he parked near Old Trafford in Manchester (Getty)

Mr Matthews, who was competing in the Manchester Marathon for the first time, said: "The area looked like a small estate and there were chaps with high-vis vests waving people in. I did the race, then walked back past Old Trafford and looked around for about an hour.

"I actually ended up walking part of the course again. Then I spent about 40 minutes in a taxi and we looked all around near the Imperial War Museum but couldn't find it. I went to the police station and there was another chap and a lady there in exactly the same position."

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Mr Matthews, who has competed in nine other marathons, added: "I was that worn out, I was just anxious and annoyed.

"I think it might be on a side street that you can't see from the main road. "In the end I got a taxi to the station and a train home. Hopefully someone will have seen my car parked there all week."