An Angus woman said she “would not be here today” if it wasn’t for the heroic delivery driver who saved her during Storm Arwen.
Gina Stapleton, 53, was in dire straits when she met DPD delivery driver Darren Wallace during the severe weather last week.
The estate agent had been making her way home from work in Forfar when she found that the road to her home in Inverquharity, in rural Angus, was blocked by fallen trees.
Before she had the chance to turn back, more trees fell behind her and on to her vehicle – forcing her to abandon it.
‘Trees were coming down like dominoes’
She said: “I was heading home from work and got caught up in it all.
“I live rurally and the difference in the weather between Forfar and where I stay was night and day.
“Trees were coming down like dominoes and a couple of trees even came down on my car.
“I had to abandon it, there was no way out.
“It’s still in the garage.”
‘I went into a panic attack’
The chaos had left the motorist alone in the storm, with no vehicle and failing mobile signal.
That’s when Darren passed in his delivery van.
Gina said: “He had been trying to get back to Dundee, he must have not been able to.
“I ran across to him and he let me in.
“I was absolutely petrified then and I went into a panic attack so Darren gave me a bottle of water and helped to calm me down.”
Gina said she was shocked by the kindness of the complete stranger.
“He didn’t have to do that,” she added.
“He could have just reversed away but he didn’t.
“I can’t thank him enough.”
The two spent the next few hours waiting out the storm together, before being told by other motorists that the road to Kirriemuir had been cleared.
They then drove to the Angus town where Darren dropped Gina off at the home of her former neighbour at about 8.30pm.
She was then picked up by her daughter, who had gone looking for her after she failed to return home.
She added: “I just want some recognition for Darren.
“I honestly think that without him I wouldn’t be here today.
“I want to thank him so much for everything he did.”
‘Absolute star’ gets award for bravery
Darren was not available for comment but his employer, DPD, applauded his bravery, calling him an “absolute star”.
A spokesman said: “Darren Wallace has been working for DPD for about a year.
“He was on his delivery route in DD8, north of Dundee, during Storm Arwen with 70mph winds and a red wind warning.
“When the road was blocked, he noticed there was a car trapped between two fallen trees.
“When he went to investigate, he realised that the lady was quite distressed and managed to get her back to his van.
“They then spent hours in the van waiting for the roads to be cleared.
“They couldn’t contact anyone by phone as the mobile networks were down. He eventually dropped her off at a house in Kirriemuir before returning to the depot.
“Darren is quite a quiet guy who just gets on with his job, but we think he’s an absolute star.
“The depot gave him a DPD Amazing Award and a bottle of bubbly.”
