A TYCROES man and his disabled wife were “abandoned” by a roadside assistance company over the weekend despite being loyal members for 14 years.

Darrin Bruce and his wife Pam broke down on a slip road just off the A48 on Saturday, December 8.

“I called RAC at around 12.15pm and I informed the member of staff on the phone that my wife is disabled and that they needed to bring a flatbed.

“After waiting almost two hours, they turned up but with a van,” said Mr Bruce, 53.

After waiting another five hours and spending around three hours waiting on the phone to talk to the telephone operator, Mr Bruce ended up using a local company in Llandeilo.

“We ended up getting my daughter out of work so she could come and pick my wife up,” he said.

“I had my hazard lights on but due to the positioning of the car, a few drivers were coming extremely close.

“Police came along and put up a warning sign 50 feet behind my vehicle.”

He was eventually informed that his rescue vehicle had broken down when coming to save him, but RAC did not call him to tell him about the delay.

To make matters worse, The Bruce family had a big event planned that same evening to mark Pam’s special birthday.

Mr Bruce said: “We had arranged with friends and family to go out to the White Hart in Llandeilo to celebrate my wife’s 60th birthday, which was on December 10.

“I was eventually rescued at around 8.15pm by a business in Llandeilo but I didn’t get to the venue till 9pm.

“The celebrations were ruined.

“I am extremely disappointed with the service I have received.”

“Not once did they ring me back when I was waiting all them hours.

“I do not expect to be treated like that.

“I am glad that my mobile phone signal was working as there was issues the previous day.”

A spokesperson for RAC said: “A member of our customer care team has spoken to Mr Bruce to apologise for the poor level of service he received.

“This fell well short of what he rightly expects of us. We value his membership and in recognition of what happened we will be contacting him to discuss a suitable gesture of goodwill.”