CAR park operators must give motorists better protection when they leave their vehicles in car parks, says the AA. Drivers have no consumer rights when they pay to park and if anything happens to their vehicle, the law - which dates back to 1937 - says that the car park owner is not liable.

A quarter of all car crime happens in car parks, costing motorists £3.5 billion a year.

The AA says that attempts to raise standards of security voluntarily, through the police's Secured Car Park Scheme, has not worked. Although nearly 1,000 car parks have achieved Secured Car Park (SCP) status, the vast majority of the country's 10,000 car parks have not, even though an SCP delivers a 70 per cent reduction in crime.

Now the AA is demanding that the government forces car park operators to meet standards of security equal at least to that of the Secured Car Park scheme. Those that do not take reasonable measures to provide a safe and secure environment for motorists should be made liable for any theft, damage or injury sustained which was due to their negligence.

Bert Morris, AA motoring policy manager, said: "Motorists can pay a lot of money for parking. But the payment gives them no legal protection whatsoever. All they get is permission to park in a space. It is time for parking to be included in consumer legislation to give motorists rights that they do not currently have.

“The Secured Car Park Scheme, which the AA fully supports, is not having the take-up that the police, Government and drivers want because too few operators have embraced it. No wonder, when the law is totally on the car park operator's side and the motorist has no consumer rights whatsoever. We have to ensure better standards across the board, to give motorists a fair deal for the car parking charges they pay."