"A flat-out problem"

I was on patrol in Bolton and got a call from a member in the Bromley Cross area about at a probable punctured tyre. However, when I arrived, I noticed something odd: the empty car next to the member's motor also had a flat.

I started to pump up the member's tyre, and sure enough it went right back down again. But somehow I wasn't convinced it could be a puncture. For that to happen two cars in the same place... it felt like too much of a coincidence.

On further investigation I realised someone had purposely loosened the tyre valve on the member's car. So I tightened it up, pumped it up again, and this time it didn't deflate.

When the member left, I decided to look at the next car along. Guess what? Same problem. And when I checked the rest of the car park, it turned out another three vehicles had flat tyres. Someone clearly didn't like people parking there!

I know what a pain having a flat can be-especially if you have children. And I knew it wouldn't take me long to check the other three valves and pump up their tyres. So that's what I did. Then I left a note to let their owners know what had happened, in case they needed to contact me about it.

After that I didn't really think about it to be honest. That is, until I saw someone had posted a pic of my note to @the AA twitter page with a big thank you on it. That made me smile. It was one of those moments that reminds you why you love your job.

Gavin Edwards, AA Patrol