MP calls for tests on ice block

An airline could be liable for the damage

A Conservative MP has called for tests to be done on a large lump of ice which dropped out of the sky and fell on a car in Leicestershire.

Stephanie Cole, 25, left her vehicle outside her parents' house in Great Glen in March when the football-sized mass smashed on to its bonnet.

So far she has had to pay around £700 for repairs.

But Harborough MP Edward Garnier said the ice may have fallen from a plane, leaving an airline liable.

University tests

Although it is unclear if an airline would be liable, the MP wants the Department for Transport (DfT) to fund tests on the ice, which has been preserved by Ms Coles' parents in their freezer.

He wrote to Transport Minister Stephen Ladyman this week saying he would organise the procedures at a local university if the government paid for them.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said the lump could have come from any one of eight airlines.

A spokesman said the CAA had written to those flying above the area on that day and none reported problems with their water systems.

He added the companies had "no control" over the fragments of ice which fell off an aircraft's fuselage.

A DfT spokesman said it was too early to comment on the contents of Mr Garnier's letter.