Wife beats AA to stranded husband

[Kahnee]

An AA customer today told how his wife drove nearly 300 miles to rescue him after he was left stranded on the moors - before the AA could organise a rescue.

Kevin Winstanley, 37, was shocked that his wife Jacqueline was able to drive from their home in Southampton and reach him in North Yorkshire before the recovery truck arrived.

He had been hiking across the Pennine Way with a friend when he accidentally locked the car keys in the boot of his blue Audi A8.

After calling the AA, Mr Winstanley waited for 10 hours inside the freezing car with the doors unlocked outside Thwaite - until 5am when his wife turned up with a spare set of keys.

Mr Winstanley said: "I just couldn't believe it when I saw her and realised she had made it all the way from Southampton.

"The impression I got was that there were no patrols available from the AA on that Saturday night (September 15)."

He added: "When Jacqui arrived it was the last thing in the world I expected to see. It was freezing cold and my contact lenses had welded to my eyes because I'd been sleeping in them.

"I must have looked a right state."

Mr Winstanley is a joint member of AA with his wife, who has been with the motoring organisation for 20 years.

He said one patrol van did arrive three hours after his call but could not get the boot open.

A spokesman for the GMB, which represents staff who work for the AA, said Mr Winstanley's experience was the result of the company's merge with Saga last month.

Paul Maloney, GMB national officer said: "After owning the AA for less than three years the private equity owners of the AA took £300 million out of the organisation when they merged it with Saga and saddled the combined operation with £4.8 billion debt.

"This money was made on the back of 3,500 sacked workers, cuts in the pay of the call centre staff, the elongation of the working day for the patrols and a decline in the service to the customers like ending night patrols. The experience of this stranded customer is one of the outcomes."

An AA spokesman said: "We take member complaints very seriously and are looking into this as a priority. We will contact Mr Winstanley as soon as we have established the facts."

[Buzz]

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[Kahnee]

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[Buzz]

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Edited October 1, 2007 by Buzz

[Kahnee]

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[Coyler]

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