02 August,2014 08:08 AM IST | | Agencies
The infant’s mother was stuck in a traffic jam that lasted nine hours
Lancaster: A mother stuck in a nine-hour traffic jam was touched by the kindness of strangers who went out of their way to get milk for her baby.
Shelley Ruck was stuck in a 50-km (30-mile) motorway tailback in soaring temperatures after a cement lorry collided with a heavy goods vehicle.
The 33-year-old was in the car with her mother Denise, her eight-month-old son, George, and one bottle of formula milk.
Her plight was noticed by people who had gathered on a bridge over the road to see what was happening.
The strangers drove to a shop and came back with milk powder, two sterilised bottles filled with boiling water and a bottle of water, which they lowered to her attached to a jerrycan.
"It was the kindest thing that anyone could have done," said Ruck.
"It was absolutely unbelievable. They saved us. My baby would have been hungry if it were not for their amazing thoughtfulness and kindness," she said.
Ruck, from Warrington, was stuck near junction 34 of the M6, near Lancaster, last Thursday until it turned dark.
She is keen to thank the mystery good Samaritans, who would not take payment for the £20 they spent.
"There was an old lady who had to be taken away in an ambulance because of the heat, and tensions among other drivers began to run high," added Ruck.
"It was really horrific. If George had woken up I would have had no milk and it would have been dire."
Other motorists spoke of the "true British spirit shining through the chaos" as farmers allowed desperate drivers to relieve themselves in fields and lorries were moved to give people shade.
The Highways Agency said it would have been unsafe for motorists to drive on before the road was clear and thanked them for their patience "in what was a very long and protracted incident."
