RAC left woman stranded on the A429 Fosse Way for 15 hours

Susan Sangston, from Calne, was driving home to Wiltshire along the Fosse Way, after visiting her brother Peter in Southam, when her car ground to a halt outside a farm at Moreton in Marsh on Monday, June 5.

Ms Sangston immediately called the RAC, who she pays £210 a year for advanced cover, at 5.12pm and an RAC truck arrived just over four hours later.

But the ordeal was far from over, as the mechanic informed her he was unable to repair her vehicle or remove it from the road.

Ms Sangston then waited another 11 hours, and spent the night sleeping in her car, before she was finally rescued at 8am the next morning by a flat-bed truck sent by the breakdown company.

Susan's car on the A429 (Image: Susan Sangston)

She said: “I felt really vulnerable because I couldn’t even lock the door, I’m 63-years-old and I was just left on my own.

“15 hours is a bit much, it was completely ridiculous and all a bit of a joke, I’d rather pay more money and call my own tow truck if it happens again.

“I was worried and had no food… their communication was dire and they couldn’t care less.”

The RAC claim the original driver was sent to try and repair Ms Sangston’s car, but a different vehicle was required to tow it away when this was not possible.

But Ms Sangston says both recovery vehicles were flat-bed trucks from contactors Cotswold Vehicle Recovery.

She added the RAC sent her a text, two hours before the first mechanic arrived, admitting she “may need a repair at a garage.”

RAC call centre employees tried to arrange a taxi to pick Ms Sangston up, initially sending it to the wrong location, but she was unable to leave her vehicle as the keys were jammed in the ignition.

An RAC spokesperson said: “We want to apologise to Susan for her experience after breaking down on Monday. As her car couldn’t be fixed at the roadside, we had no option but to arrange for it to be transported on a flatbed recovery vehicle.

“However, since Covid there are unfortunately far fewer recovery contractors for us to call on, so despite trying nine different companies from different areas the soonest we could get one to attend was the next day. We will be agreeing a suitable gesture of goodwill with Susan to say sorry.”