Citroen owners 'isolated' by airbag safety recall

Anthony Hobbs said he is one of the 120,000 people affected by the Citroen stop-drive action

Some car owners in Devon have said they have been left "isolated" after their Citroen models were recalled due to a faulty airbag.

Stellantis, the parent company of Citroen issued a stop-drive action for 120,000 of its vehicles in the UK last week following a fatal accident in France last month.

One of those affected is Anthony Hobbs, from Plymouth, who said his Citroen DS3 was a "lifeline" for him as he suffers from a number of mental and physical health issues.

The 62-year-old said: "It's like going through Covid all over again when you are all tied down and you can't see anybody, you can't do anything."

Stallantis said the lead time for the replacement varied by retailer with some taking a few days and others longer.

One woman in Somerset was told the repair could not take place until next year.

"I don't know what I'm going to do, I can't stay in the house," Mr Hobbs said.

He has contacted a local garage and is waiting for a date when the repair can take place.

Saffron Alton-Barker said she felt isolated after losing access to her car

New mum Saffron Alton-Barker's Citroen DSD3 is currently parked on a drive near Exeter.

She said the loss of her car has left her "isolated" in a rural area, and unsure of how long it may take to put right.

She said: "We have tried really hard to get an answer about the timeline. I have completely failed to get an answer.

"The person I spoke to at the Citroen Exeter garage was trying their best, but he said to me essentially they can't give me a timescale because they haven't got the part."

Stellantis said all C3 and DS3 models built from 2009-2016, as well as a handful of DS3s produced from 2016-2019 should not be driven until airbags produced by the now defunct Japanese supplier Takata have been replaced.

It is the latest development in a long-running saga which has led to the recall of an estimated 100 million cars worldwide over the past decade.

The company said: "To increase our repair capacity further, work is ongoing on introducing additional airbag replacement sites at convenient locations as well as repair at home options.

"It is inevitable, with such a large number of vehicles affected, that customers will be inconvenienced in the short term."