A DISABLED man was left waiting for a breakdown service for almost 10 hours  in rising floodwaters after he was stranded 37 miles from home.

Dean Jackson, of Great Malvern, was driving through rural Herefordshire when the rear tyre on his Peugeot 5008 blew out on Wednesday, October 16.

At 5.30pm, he put a call into the RAC as he had no spare tyre.

The 40-year-old said: "The area around me was slowly experiencing rising floodwaters, which created a hazardous environment that rapidly worsened as daylight faded."

Mr Jackson has scoliosis and was towing a box trailer that he uses to store his mobility scooter which he explained is essential to allowing him to get around.

"Given my disabilities, I felt particularly vulnerable and anxious about my situation, so I informed the operator of my circumstances, emphasising the urgency due to both my disabilities and the environmental conditions.

"However, despite my pleas, I was left waiting alone without food or water for an excruciating nine and a half hours.

"It felt interminable."

At around 3.30am the following morning, a low loader arrived to pick up Mr Jackson and take him home.

However, this was not the end of Mr Jackson's ordeal: "The driver disregarded road closure signs and manoeuvred the lorry, with my trailer attached, through dangerously deep floodwaters.

"This reckless action resulted in my trailer being dragged through mud and debris, which I later discovered had caused significant damage to the wheel hubs and created a frightening grinding noise when I used it."  

Mr Jackson returned home at 5am, feeling very shaken up: "I was left feeling incredibly vulnerable, having been stranded in a remote area for such a lengthy period."

At 10.30am, Mr Jackson called out the RAC again to replace his punctured tyre with a temporary one so he could drive to Worcester and get a replacement.

Expecting another long wait, he was surprised when an RAC van arrived to his house just 20 minutes later.

"Why couldn't have done that while I was stuck in the middle of nowhere?" he said.

Mr Jackson contacted the RAC to complain about his experience and discuss compensation, but felt his complaints were diminished and he was accused of spamming their social media page.

"I want to emphasise that this is not merely about poor service, but it is about the RAC's failure to provide adequate care and support for vulnerable customers."

Shortly after the Worcester News contacted the RAC for a comment, Mr Jackson informed us it was willing to provide him with a settlement.

Mr Jackson said: "I appreciate the RAC's willingness to acknowledge their shortcoming as a trusted vehicle recovery organisation, especially since they have offered me £1,000 as a settlement of my complaint, which I am very happy with."

A spokesperson for the RAC said: "We've apologised to Mr Jackson and resolved things to his satisfaction by covering the cost of replacing his water-damaged trailer.

"Major disruption due to significant flooding understandably made recoveries very challenging that day which is why it took us longer to reach Mr Jackson."