An RAC customer has shared her anger after being left stranded overnight by the side of a major road for seven hours.

Jane Hammond, 53, from Brundall, was travelling from north Norfolk to Manchester for a family party when her Renault Grand Scénic broke down on the M18/M1 slip road hard shoulder at 5.10pm on Saturday, June 29.

She ended up getting home 17 hours later after being left at Blyth Services on the A1(M) for two hours and later at Holdingham Service Station, Sleaford, on the A17 between 11.40pm and 7.30am.

The support worker from Lingwood Care Farm and her car were returned home by an independent recovery firm at 10am, paid for by the RAC.

Mrs Hammond said: "I was so relieved when I saw the recovery truck. I have never been so pleased to see my drive and husband. I was very angry afterwards. It has put me off long journeys."

The 53-year-old, who cares for adults with physical and learning disabilities, has been an RAC customer for 30 years and paid over £200 for this year's roadside recovery and at home cover.

She is urging people to check their policies and wants big companies to communicate changes more clearly.

"I don't read the small print. I'm naive and hold my hands up," she said.

Mrs Hammond is reluctant to renew her RAC policy when it ends in 10 months after "completely losing confidence" in the business and has since complained about the overnight delay.

She praised the initial RAC engineer who escorted her to Blyth Services.

But Mrs Hammond added: "For seven hours the RAC didn't call to check my welfare."

She became "frustrated" and scared out of her wits end after being left in Sleaford not knowing when she would be recovered.

And at 1.30am, Mrs Hammond had to pay £38 for a Travelodge room after hearing from the RAC she would not be rescued until a few hours later.

An RAC spokesman said: "We would like to apologise to Mrs Hammond for the delay she experienced in being recovered and the mistakes that were made managing her subsequent complaint.

"We will be contacting her to discuss a suitable gesture of goodwill. We help resolve thousands of breakdowns successfully every day, but on this occasion we did not live up to our usual high standards."