Colchester woman stuck on Clingoe hill without recovery

Fleur Forsyth, 45, broke down on Clingoe Hill, on the way to take her epileptic cat, Honey to the vets, on Tuesday night.

Then later the same evening a second car broke down behind her adding to the issues for drivers. 

Fleur said: “I finished work and took my cat to the vets, as he has epilepsy and needed to get him there and my car just died.

Nightmare - the works to build the Rapid Transit System caused problems with the breakdown to be heightened (Image: Credited) “The traffic was horrendous. I managed to pull over where the workers were, I called the RAC and they said it wasn’t a problem, but I got a call an hour later saying its free recovery and the cameras should have picked you up.

Concerned - Fleur Forsyth felt as though she was left in a 'vulnerable' position (Image: Credited) “There was no number to call, so the RAC gave me it.

“It was just the vulnerability of it all and if I didn’t have family nearby it could have been a problem.

“In the end my dad had to call the police to try and get me recovered because no one else could get to me."

Cute - Fleur's cat Honey was meant to be on her way to the vets (Image: Credited) Police then helped Fleur and the fellow broken down driver to clear the road. 

She said: “A car had broken down behind me and people were getting aggressive, so thankfully I had pulled over because that could have happened to me.

“If it was someone more vulnerable in my position, like an elderly person, or someone who didn’t have nearby contact, it could have been a lot worse.

“I managed to eventually get to Tesco car park where the RAC recovered me.”

Before - Clingoe Hill before works began (Image: Google) Fleur’s dad, David Smith, 65, had to come and assist her.

He said: “She called me up and said she was panicking and she tried to explain where she was exactly.

“The RAC man turned up on the other side of the road and said it was too dangerous, so gave her the number for free recovery.

“I didn’t like the thought of her being stranded so I thought there was no other option but to call the police.

“They had to hold the traffic up to get to her.

“It was very annoying that I couldn’t get to her, but they should have been monitoring the cameras and sent someone to her.”

A spokesman for Essex Highways said: “In case of breakdowns, free recoveries are available via a phone number prominently displayed along the roadworks. Road users must call this number to alert the contractor.

“Our records show the vehicle owner called the contractor at 6pm with the vehicle successfully moved by 7:18pm.”