A kindhearted dad has offered his motorhome to a family-of-five who were forced to sleep in their car after their caravan holiday turned out to be a scam.
Nicola Smith paid a private individual she found on Facebook £500.
She thought she was getting an eight berth caravan at Lyons Winkups Holiday Park in Towyn, near Rhyl, north Wales.
READ MORE: Couple quit jobs to travel the world in a campervan, covering 60,000 miles in 4 years
- Advertisement -
She claims to have paid the owner for a week’s stay with her children Keisha, 16, Cam-ron, 14, Isla, eight, and Faith, four.
The family travelled from Nantwich, Cheshire on August 17 only to discover someone else staying in the caravan.
The 34-year-old checked with reception who said they’d never heard of her and she realised she’d been scammed.
The family were forced to sleep in their car overnight as all the nearby hotels were booked up.
The next day, Nicola forked out £439 for a Travelodge for two nights so the children could go to the beach and fun fair, before driving home.
- Advertisement -
Mark Rayden said his ‘blood boiled’ when he heard Nicola’s story.
The generous 56-year-old reached out to her to offer a one week stay in his five person campervan.
Mark, from Winchester, Hampshire, told What’s the Jam: “When I heard the story, it made my blood boil.
- Advertisement -
“To do that to a single lady with kids is disgusting.
“I have the means to help. They can go somewhere where the kids will be excited. They can go in the sea and Nicola can put her feet up because she deserves it.
“Three quarters of the year, the it isn’t being used. I’ll make sure there’s no driving involved for her. I’ll get it to her.”
The dad-of-one bought the camper after he was diagnosed with melanoma on his face 18 months ago so he’d have somewhere to clear his head.
The management consultant said: “When you have cancer you want things to look forward to.
“I use it to park on a beach and sort my head out. That’s what the van is about and Nicola needs some head space with four children.
“She needs it for her as well as the kids.
“I want something to go away and get some headspace. I like mountain walking and I use it when I visit relatives.”
Nicola says she can’t afford to take her family abroad and the trip to Wales was supposed to be their first holiday in two years.
She said: “We were supposed to get the key to the caravan from a lock box but the code didn’t work.
“The lights were on and we looked through the window and there were suitcases in there.
“I went to reception and they called the owner who said they’d never heard of me.
“When I realised it was a scam, I felt sick to my stomach.
“I felt so angry. It took me a long time to save up for the holiday with the cost of living and I’ve got four children.”
The family slept in their car for the night and booked into a hotel the next day.
Nicola said: “It was about 9.30pm and all the hotels in the area were fully booked..
“I had to park in a car park, put the seats down and sleep with my kids in there.
“It’s lucky we had blankets. I had to keep the engine running all night to keep warm.
“How could someone do that to a single mother?”
READ MORE: Meet the grumpy stray dog, The Boulder
