Henley woman and son stranded overnight waiting for RAC

Caroline Jacobs pictured outside her home in Henley-on-Thames

A woman and her son were left stranded overnight at a service station waiting for the RAC after her car broke down on the M4 near Bridgend.

Caroline Jacobs was driving home to Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire on Thursday after a camping trip in Wales.

Despite being a member of the RAC, she was only taken to services near the Severn Bridge by an approved partner of the breakdown service.

The RAC said it was paying towards the cost of repairs and for a hire car.

Mrs Jacobs first called the RAC at 12:30 BST when the warning lights on her Peugeot came on.

'Getting progressively later'

She was unable to make it to the nearest slip road and called the police. Highways officers came to her assistance and "at a very slow pace" helped her off the hard shoulder.

Mrs Jacobs' husband Kevin said she then began to receive multiple texts informing her the RAC was "extremely busy" and that assistance would be coming, but they "kept getting progressively later".

At 21:00, eight and a half hours after the first call, a pick-up truck from an approved partner garage turned up but "he was only prepared to take her to the next service station", Mr Jacobs said.

Mrs Jacobs and her son were taken to Magor Services near the Severn Bridge

Later, another low-loader arrived to pick up the pair and their car but could only take them to a service station on the other side of the Severn Bridge, Mr Jacobs said.

"By that time it was 02:45 and she received a call to say they wouldn't be able to recover the vehicle and would pay for a taxi to get them home instead," he added.

The taxi arrived at 05:30 and they got home after 07:00.

'We're really sorry'

Mr Jacobs said he was "furious".

"We were due to go away on a family break this Wednesday. The car is not back yet, it's somewhere between Wales and here," he added.

The RAC has apologised to Mrs Jacobs.

In a statement, it said: "While we usually fix most members there and then, on this occasion a recovery was the only option.

"Unfortunately, long recoveries are currently very challenging for the whole industry due to regulations limiting how long drivers can drive for and a shortage of drivers.

"We're really sorry Caroline and her son didn't experience our normal high level of service."