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Subaru drivers perform heroic duties

14th December 2010 Print
Subaru

With the recent Arctic blast wreaking wintery havoc across the entire UK, All-Wheel Drive Subaru dealers and owners have been forced to take matters into their own hands.

For example, the valiant team at Scottish Subaru dealership, Alex F. Noble & Son, have joined forces with the British Red Cross in transporting crucial members of its volunteer operation to the worst hit areas of Dalkeith, Midlothian in order to help the elderly and infirm.

The dealership’s eight-strong fleet of permanent Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive Subarus have undertaken numerous tough challenges in recent days, including ferrying patients to and from GP surgeries, collecting vital prescriptions and running errands in temperatures as low as minus 18 degrees Celsius.  Footage of the Subaru team in action has been captured by a special BBC programme called Frozen Scotland.

Rhona West, a spokesperson for the British Red Cross said:  “With many roads proving impassable across Midlothian, our phones have been ringing non-stop.  We are extremely grateful for Alex F. Noble & Son’s skill and assistance during this harsh winter snap.”

Other Subaru dealerships have also put their sure-footed Japanese vehicles to good use in snow-bound Britain, including the sales teams at Dennis Common and Auto Ecosse.

“We are supplying the Northumbrian Ambulance service with three of our All-Wheel Drive Impreza vehicles, which are being used as fast-response units for paramedics throughout the county.  The teams of medical professionals are full of praise for the new Impreza model, which offers superior levels of traction and stability,” explains Dennis Common, Dealer Principal of Dennis Common Subaru.

Auto Ecosse Subaru in Dundee have also been doing their bit for the community, as Tim Hancock explains:  “Our Subaru Outback demonstrator has already proved extremely beneficial to the local community this winter.  We have ferried numerous stranded nurses to and from the Accident and Emergency Department at Dundee’s Ninewells hospital.  In fact, we’ve had such a positive response to our support that we’re now employing a driver to go out and rescue members of the public who are stranded in the snow and ice.”

In addition to the support offered by the firm’s dealers, Subaru UK was also recently notified of a rather unusual story involving two courageous owners.

When student paramedic, Andy Bawler, and paramedic, Tracey Dale, from Godstone Ambulance Station, Surrey, were called out to a remote area of the county to treat 20-year-old Jess Gibson, they got stuck in the snow.

The ambulance clinicians quickly decided the young lady needed hospital treatment; however they couldn’t turn their vehicle around to get back up the country track they’d driven down.  Despite a number of people attempting dig them free with shovels, the vehicle remained stuck fast.  But, much to everyone’s delight, a pair of Subaru Imprezas driven by two Scandinavian tourists drove down the road, after their satellite navigation systems had told them to take the rural track.

These two Knights in shining Subarus quickly pulled the ambulance back up the track and on to the gritted main road.  Paramedic Andy Bawler spoke of his gratitude:  “I did ask the guys for their names but in all the action didn’t write them down.  I’d really like to properly thank them for their amazing help.  It feels like someone might just have been looking down on us.”

Subaru’s All-Wheel Drive range starts at £16,995 for the entry level Impreza 1.5 RC, and rises to £35,795 for the top of the range Outback 3.6R.  For more information, visit subaru.co.uk.

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Subaru