Where Leicester's breakdowns happen
Leicester sits where the M1 and M69 motorways meet the A6 and A46 trunk routes, and the A47, A50 and A607 lead into the city as well. A breakdown here might be on the motorway near junction 21, on the A46 heading for Newark, or in a congested street near the market. Each one needs a different plan, and the opening moments of the call are about working out which one we are dealing with.
When you ring 01332 916028, give us the road and the direction of travel first. On the M1 the junction numbers do most of the work: 21 is where the M69 and the A5460 join, beside Leicester Forest East services; 21A takes traffic off onto the A46; and 22 is the exit for the A50 and A511 towards Coalville. Away from the motorway, a street name, a postcode or a nearby landmark is plenty. After that, tell us what the vehicle is, whether it is loaded, and what happened just before it stopped.
Fixing it there, or moving it
Our aim is a roadside repair, because a vehicle put right where it stopped can carry on with its day. Air leaks, failed lighting, electrical faults and damaged tyres are often things a technician can sort out on the spot when they turn up prepared for them.
Some breakdowns can't be fixed safely where they are. A tractor unit dead on a live lane, a coach with a serious fault or a rigid damaged in a collision may need lifting and moving. In that case we recover the vehicle with equipment rated for its weight and take it either to our workshop at Melbourne, a short run from junction 23a further up the same motorway, or back to your own Leicester depot if your own fitters prefer to finish it.
The vehicles on Leicester's roads
The city's central position had turned it into a distribution centre by the 1990s, and the traffic still shows it: artics and trailers running to and from warehouses, lorries serving food producers such as the crisp factories at Beaumont Leys, vans working out of the garment district, and the buses and coaches that leave St Margarets and Haymarket. We take emergency calls for all of them, from HGVs, trailers and coaches to minibuses, vans and light commercials, and for specialist and emergency-service vehicles too.
While you wait
If the vehicle has stopped on the motorway, the driver should leave the cab on the side away from the traffic and wait behind the barrier. In town, hazards on and a safe place to stand away from the kerb. Keep the phone switched on so our technician can ring for details on the way. You don't need to be an existing customer to use the line, and it is answered every day of the year, bank holidays and the small hours included.
