Orkney car breakdown assigned to RAC patrol 750 miles away

Orkney resident Hayley Green was called by a mechanic in Devon wanting to check her postcode

An Orkney driver has been left bemused after the RAC assigned a patrol from Devon to fix her vehicle - 750 miles away in Stromness.

Hayley Green needed help after her electric car showed a warning message but the mechanic given the job soon rang to check her postcode.

Hayley then contacted a local garage, who recovered the vehicle.

The RAC has apologised and said it was investigating a possible problem with its online system.

BBC Radio Orkney knows of two similar cases involving RAC members, and another instance involving a member of a different national recovery organisation - though it is not clear how those drivers reported their problems.

Hayley said the mechanic laughed when she confirmed where she was.

"Then he said he thought it might take him a little bit longer than an hour to get to me," she added.

"But, he was ever so friendly, ever so nice, and we agreed he wasn't going to be my guy."

Hayley gets RAC breakdown services through the warranty on her electric car

"My car hasn't been able to be repaired, so it's got to go off to be fixed but that's a different problem.

"The fact is that I was left in Stromness, waiting for a guy from Devon," she said.

Hayley said she was very clear about her location and postcode when she reported her fault online.

"I haven't checked if there's a KW-ish type post code in Devon, but I'd be highly surprised if there is," she added.

Google maps estimates it would take more than 14 hours to drive from Devon to Orkney

In a statement, an RAC spokesperson said: "We've apologised to Hayley for the problem and delay she experienced.

"The service she received was unfortunately not up to our usual high standard.

"We're looking at online breakdown reports from Orkney to see what may have happened.

"In the meantime, we ask all our members on the island to report their breakdowns on the phone by calling 0333 2000 999."