"My faith in people was restored"

Naturally the first anniversary of my father’s death was going to be a sad and difficult day. So my sister and I decided to take our mum out for lunch and shopping to take our minds off things. Everything was going fine until suddenly mum started to feel very poorly and looked very pale to say the least. We hurried back to my sister’s car as quickly as we could considering mum’s condition and set off for home. Unfortunately, the worry meant that my sister hit a curb in the car park, which must have damaged the tyre as it blew up big time when we got onto the motorway.

We left the car on the hard shoulder and sat with mum (who we had wrapped in a blanket) on the embankment while I called the AA. I told the woman in the call centre what had happened and asked if they could hurry and she said they would try. 10 minutes later and low and behold an AA van turned up. Two minutes after that, a fast response paramedic arrived. And then an ambulance. By this time mum was so embarrassed that she was using the blanket to hide under. It transpires that a passer-by thought we were in trouble and had called 999.

Anyway, I went with mum in the ambulance to her home while my sister stayed with her car while the AA Patrol changed the wheel so that she could join us later. Thankfully mum’s going to be ok.

I learnt three things that day. One, the AA are brilliant and their customer service is excellent. Two, the NHS is the best health service in the world. And three, that kind passer-by proved that not all people turn a blind eye.

Anne Hobson, AA Member