A family of American tourists were left stranded on the side of a rural Wiltshire road by the AA for a full 24 hours.

Frank Clark, 65, brought his wife Kathy and their 14-year-old grandson Isaac across the Atlantic from Virginia, in the USA, for the Goodwood Revival in Chichester on September 8.

But their holiday was thrown into chaos on Monday, September 4, when they travelled though Wiltshire, from their hotel in Portsmouth, to visit the iconic stone circles at Avebury.

The family got as far up the A360 as Littleton Panell, just south of Devizes, when their car, hired from Hertz car rental, suffered a double blowout on the passenger side tyres.

But their ordeal was just beginning, as they were left abandoned on the side of the road for 24 hours before the AA responded to their pleas for help.

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Mr Clark said: “We were living on the side of the road, we were given so many estimated arrival times, made dozens of calls and nobody arrived.

“We have our problems in America, but this shouldn’t happen in developed countries like this.

“I had to sit here and wait and then they just left us overnight, I’ve never experienced anything like this.”

The Clarks and their vehicle were eventually picked up by a garage agent at around 3.30pm on Tuesday and taken to Devizes where a new set of tyres previously delivered by Hertz were waiting for them.

The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald: The car being taken away on Tuesday, September 5The car being taken away on Tuesday, September 5 (Image: Andrew Clarke)

They were spared sleeping in their car by the help of villagers, who branded the situation “appalling” and offered them food, drink, and a place to stay.

Mr Clark added: “They were amazing, we would be dead without their help.”

A spokesperson for the AA insisted that they arranged overnight accommodation for the family and booked a taxi to take them there, but added this taxi failed to arrive.

They said: “We are sorry for the unacceptable delay in service for Mr Clark and for the failure of the taxi we booked to take him to the hotel for the overnight (September 4) accommodation we arranged.

“The AA is the only major breakdown service provider to be Which? recommended in 2022 and for the last 5 years running.

“We have investigated this incident thoroughly and, on this occasion, we fell far short of our usual standards.

“We will work with the customer to find a satisfactory resolution to their complaint and will be providing training and feedback to ensure it does not happen again.”