999 sick driver’s big bill shock

Hasna Begum — sick at the thought of recovery fees

Hasna pays price for falling ill at the wheel
A MOTORIST who was whisked to hospital after falling violently ill at the wheel, is being forced to pay fees to recover her car.

Hasna Begum (27), from Royton, had agonising stomach pains and started vomiting inside her Ford Focus as she drove on the M60, near Bury.

Frightened, she pulled over and called an ambulance, which sped her to Fairfield Hospital in Bury.

Meanwhile, the Highways Agency’s National Vehicle Recovery service took her car off to Auto Rescue Ltd, in Ramsbottom.

Miss Begum says she was handed a yellow slip by ambulance staff, which she was told to put away for when she collected her car, but as she felt disorientated, she didn’t read it.

The student adviser at Oldham College, who later discovered she had a kidney infection, said: “If they had told me at the time I would have had a £150 charge to recover my car, I would have got someone to collect it.

“They are now charging me holding fees of £20 for each day it is there.

“I haven’t been able to collect it yet as I’ve been back to hospital for tests.

“I’ve read the slip now and it says a charge may apply for recovery, but this was a medical emergency — the ambulance took me away.”

Miss Begum, who is getting lifts from her sister, says she understood she had 48 hours to pick up the vehicle without paying holding fees, but claims the company are not honouring that, only giving her 24 hours.

She has complained to the Highways Agency, which has 15 days to consider her claim — in which time she could have potentially run up a whopping bill.

A spokesman for the Highways Agency said the service had been introduced to help tackle incidents which can cause accidents and congestion.

He said: “Vehicles left for any length of time on the hard shoulder are vulnerable to collisions which can cause injury and death to other road users as well as serious congestion — the removal powers are similar to those exercised by the police.

“Where a driver cannot make their own reasonable arrangements for removal, our officers can remove vehicles causing an immediate danger.

“Where a driver is present, recovery options are fully discussed with them and they are given a leaflet with an explanation of the service, costs and a 24-hour inquiry number.”