‘Freak gust of wind’ blows motorhome away with family still inside
'It’s just unbelievable.’
A family survived a terrifying ordeal when high winds blew their rented motorhome over, sending it tumbling toward a lake.
The motorhome was parked in a layby on Scotland’s North Coast 500 route last Sunday when Storm Kathleen rolled the vehicle down the slope.
Peter Schmidt, owner of Luna Motorhome Hire, who had rented the vehicle to the family, told The Guardian: ‘It’s a miracle that no one was seriously hurt. It’s just unbelievable.’
Police and emergency services were called to the A896 near Shieldaig, Wester Ross, where they found the family and both dogs had suffered minor injuries.
Schmidt received a call from the family not long after explaining the motorhome had been damaged beyond repair.
He said: ‘They weren’t sure how many times it rolled, or whether it had rolled at all, but when it came to a standstill, they all got out and found the van had started to fall apart around them.
‘It sounded pretty scary. The kids were resting on the beds, and the fridges in these motorhomes are really heavy and there’s a lot of sharp corners, and there’s knives – because we provide a cutlery set – and there’s gas bottles.
‘When you think about what happened, and all the equipment in there, it’s a complete miracle. They are very, very lucky.’
Having ensured the family were as well as could be expected after receiving medical attention, Schmidt asked them to provide photos of the van and its location so he could arrange to have the vehicle retrieved by roadside assistance.
He said: ‘Of course, my heart sank. But what was more important was that no one was hurt beyond a couple of bruises.
‘And whatever happens to my customers – even if it is a freak gust of wind that blows them off – I feel some responsibility towards them.’
Storm Kathleen caused widespread disruption to power supplies and travel across the UK and Ireland last weekend.
Beach huts in Bournemouth, Dorset and Falmouth collapsed and were sept into the sea, while in Hampshire residents were evacuated from dozens of homes as flooding saw the streets submerged.
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