Van driver praised for tackling vehicle blaze

On the 25th of January, a 34-year-old was travelling down the M271 when he saw flames appear from underneath the car in front. This vehicle, a silver Peugeot, then spun out of control and landed on its roof.

Quickly applying the brakes, the motorist stopped his van, switched on the hazards, and jumped out the vehicle – with a fire extinguisher in hand – to tackle the flames coming from the flipped car.

Furthermore, he checked the wreck for any passengers and dragged the sole occupant – the driver – to a safe location.

Although it is currently unknown what actually caused the accident, it seems the Peugeot suffered a tyre blow-out – resulting in the car spinning out of control.

Regardless, the van insurance policyholder deserves substantial praise for this actions. Without his quick thinking, the driver could have easily suffered serious, or even fatal, injuries. Instead, he has only sustained minor whiplash.

Commending the man's actions, a spokesperson for Hampshire Police also asked for witnesses of the accident to contact Totton Roads Policing Unit with any relevant information.

Whether you have purchased Ford Escort van insurance, cover for a Transit, or a similar policy for a different vehicle, it is probably fair to say that the majority of your journeys take place without incident.

Unfortunately, sometimes traffic accidents do occur, and although many motorists do not know how they would respond in this situation, this van driver is rightly being praised for his selflessness.

Photo © matthew venn via Flickr under Creative Commons Licence

VW Kombi to disappear. Nothing Scooby Do can do

Few vehicles have ever defined the image of the "white van" as successfully as the VW Kombi. For although these iconic vehicles are more familiar in two-tone incarnations – think orange and white or green and white – there have also been, over the years, countless all-white models of the VW Kombi.
But for the lucky white van insurance holders who own a pristine white VW Kombi, the time has come to really reconsider just what time of insurance they will be seeking – white van insurance or vintage van insurance. This is because Volkswagen has announced that finally, after 63 years, it is to stop producing the vehicle.

Actually, European safety laws forced VW to cease production of the Kombi in Germany during 1979, so for 25 years all new Kombis have come from Brazil. However, even that country has had to embrace a safer future in which anti-lock braking and air bags are compulsory, and, unfortunately, the Kombi just can't comply.

Even though we understand why this must be so, there is a sad inevitability about the way the free-loving, free-spirited, and unconventional Kombi should eventually meet its fate.
But for those who do already own a Kombi, this perhaps represents good news. It is likely that their vehicles will now appreciate in value, while the rest of us who don't own one can only sit back and dream before getting back behind the wheel of our Transit vans.

Tesco van driver saved from floodwaters

It seems no one in the UK is safe from the effects of flooding, whether or not they're near the coast.
The recent bad weather has led to homes being vacated, trees being downed, and roads becoming impassable due to deep water all over the country.

And it's not just the general public who have been struggling, companies and organisations are also feeling the strain, with many trying to fix the damage or attempting to deliver goods as usual.
Large and small business van insurance policyholders have been affected – with some unable to send products to certain stores, small village shops struggling to re-stock, and home deliveries being delayed or even cancelled.

For example, one Tesco delivery van driver needed rescuing from floodwaters on the Cumbria coast yesterday between Allonby and Silloth, right next to the Irish Sea.
At about three in the afternoon, the man was attempting the drive to a customer's house along a road adjacent to the beach when his vehicle became caught in floodwaters caused by the rain and 15-20ft high waves.

The police, fire and ambulance service, as well as the coastguard all attended the scene to get the driver and his van to safety. They managed to successfully tow the stranded motorist to the village of Mawbray. The man was not hurt during the incident.

A spokesperson for the Cumbria police states, "Officers from the police and other agencies are working hard to keep the public safe, and ask the public to help them do this by obeying road signs and taking no unnecessary risks."

Supermarket goes grimy this Christmas

If you're a window van insurance holder, you won't be pleased with the news emanating from supermarket chain Morrisons recently – apparently the company has decided against having any store windows cleaned over the winter period, according to documents seen by The Telegraph.
Citing "financial constraints" and "an increase in snow and frost" the supermarket has said that no windows will be cleaned until February 2, which represents the end of the financial year for the supermarket.

Thankfully, Morrisons is alone in embracing grimy windows, because if they weren't then it certainly would be a tough winter for the nation's window van insurance holders – no work for the winter really would mean "financial constraints".

But then, maybe the supermarket doesn't know what it is missing out on – not only crystal clean windows. Take for example, the recent case of two window van insurance holders who dressed up as Father Christmas. This was then followed by an elfin assistant climbing out of their Citroen van and then down the windows of a children's hospital. Maybe in seeking to cut costs, Morrison has deprived itself of similar magical surprises.

Cat stows away on van driver's vehicle

A woman's van insurance holder must have been quite taken aback recently after discovering that a stowaway had managed to make its way onto her vehicle. However, this uninvited guest was probably more terrified than she was.

Kick, a black and white cat aptly named after a kid's television show where the lead character is determined to become a renowned daredevil, somehow managed to climb onto the driver's vehicle while it was stationary and then held onto the roof rack when it started moving.
According to reports, the van insurance policyholder only realised something was amiss when other motorists started flashing their lights. However, when she discovered Kick, she had already been travelling on the motorway for 22 miles – sometimes at speeds of 70mph.

After removing him from the roof rack, the van driver took Kick to a vet to make sure he was alright. Fortunately, he was given a clean bill of health and has since been reunited with his owners.
I wonder what he was doing on top of that van in the first place...perhaps he was intending to go on the purrfect journey or simply trying to live up to his namesake and be remembered as a daredevil. Still, he's lucky this incident didn't end in catastrophe...

Photo © Highways Agency via Flickr under Creative Commons Licence

Cat gives birth inside van

Courier van insurance policyholders often regularly travel around the country, delivering a wide variety of goods, items, and packages. Occasionally these individuals have to transport loads which can be rather unusual, sometimes leading to an interesting story.

For example, one van driver probably had the shock of their life recently when they travelled to Parc Prison in Bridgend. It appears that while the vehicle was left unattended, a stowaway managed to get inside, remain hidden from staff members, and was only discovered the next morning.

Fortunately, this story is not about the prisoners or an elaborate jailbreak. You see, this stowaway was a cat – who decided to give birth to six kittens while inside the van insurance holder's vehicle.
Upon discovery, prison staff contacted Cats Protection, an animal charity, who then liberated the seven new inmates from the complex – possibly bringing a whole new meaning to the phrase ‘cat burglar' in the process.

Now named after famous crime-fighting characters, (Morse, Sherlock, Christie, Marple, Jessica, and Kojak) the kittens are being cared for by the charity until they can be re-homed.
It is still a mystery how the mother managed to get inside the van, but the incident probably gave staff members some paws for thought.

Photo: Sue Dobbs

A radioactive substance could have been stolen from a van

Van insurance policyholders often transport many important items in their vehicles. Some of these are vital for businesses, others could be extremely valuable – but certain cargos can be dangerous.

Recently, a van was broken into within the Lancashire area – and a small canister was stolen from the vehicle. Although there are no reports as to how many criminals were involved, police have warned that this cargo might be hazardous.
It is believed that the canister was being used to transport a small quantity of Iridium-192 – a radioactive substance which has industrial and medical applications.

Fortunately, the material shouldn't pose a danger to the general public providing the canister isn't opened. The container has been marked with a radiation symbol so hopefully those who stole the substance will have the common sense to keep it closed.

In the event the cylinder is opened, a spokesperson for the Health Protection Agency urged people who have had "prolonged physical contact" with the material to seek medical attention.
If you locate the missing canister, then you should not attempt to transport it and instead contact police who will collect the item. In addition, the criminals have been urged to return the material as they could be placing their wellbeing at risk.

If anyone has any information about the stolen container, he or she can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

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Photo © Beige Alert via Flickr under Creative Commons Licence