Romanian migrant Victor Spirescu’s career at a car wash lasted just a day before he quit, it emerged last night.

Spirescu, 30, arrived in Britain on New Year’s Day to be greeted at Luton airport by Labour MP Keith Vaz – the chairman of the Commons Home Affairs Committee.

Spirescu was one of the first to arrive as  controls on migrants from Romania and Bulgaria lapsed.

He reassured Mr Vaz that he intended to find work as soon as possible and days later he had joined a team of fellow Eastern Europeans washing cars in the Bedfordshire town of Biggleswade.

But yesterday workers at the car wash in Foundry Lane told how he had vanished.

‘He worked last Friday for the very first time and that was when he was photographed by the Daily Mail as the guys showed him the ropes and welcomed him to the country,’ said a source at the car wash last night.

‘He did a full day and then came back to the house we all share in the town.

‘The next day he said he needed to take the day off and was going to see his brother in London.

‘On Saturday night he came back to the house and grabbed his bag and possessions and just left.

‘We do not know where he is or what he is doing now and can’t reach him on his Romanian mobile because he has turned it off to save on roaming charges.

‘Basically he came, car washed for a day and quit.’

Staff at the car wash categorically denied that Victor had been sacked.

However, news of Victor’s decision to call an end to his fledgling car washing career was mired in mystery last night as one newspaper claimed he had been fired because of the publicity surrounding his arrival in Britain.

He told The Times newspaper his boss had become irritated with frequent phone calls from the press, from Mr Spirescu’s family and also his high media profile.