A man's holiday turned into a nightmare after he claims cops seized his caravan "with no explanation".
Craig Schofield, 57, was travelling with his mate Stuart South, 51, and says he was treated "like a criminal" - despite claiming to have done nothing wrong.
The pair set off from Manchester and were passing through Buxton when the caravan detached from his car.
As a started Craig began to try and drop the jockey wheel down, a Good Samaritan stopped to help direct traffic, BirminghamLive reports.
The pair struggled to get the caravan off the central reservation and police arrived at the scene.
Officers asked Craig, who had been holidaying in Matlock, Derbyshire, to pull into a layby and told him that they would recover it for him using a truck.
But they then seized the vehicle, allegedly with no explanation as to why they were taking it, and they didn't give Craig any documentation or number to call in terms of getting his caravan back.
"I thought they were helping me at the time as they said they wanted to get the caravan to a safe spot," Craig, from the Midlands, said.
"However, I then saw them take the caravan past me and they kept going and I was then informed that it had been seized but that they didn't tell me why or where it was being taken.
"They then started to question my validity of ownership over the caravan, to which I showed them my insurance details and the messages from the guy I brought it from on eBay.
He went on to say that over the weekend, the sensors he has inside the caravan were going off, suggesting that someone was inside it.
He then got through to an officer, he claims, who told him he needed to call the recovery team.
However when he called them, they were asking for details he hadn't been provided with by the police so was stuck in a loop with no answers.
"Stuart was born with Encephalitis and he's really been affected by the whole ordeal," added Craig.
"He'd packed two full bags of clothes and was really looking forward to us spending some time together on a road-trip holiday, only to have to go through this ordeal. He was writing letters to me, asking why the police had done this and how emotional it's made him and it's tearing me up."
A spokesperson for Derbyshire Police said: "Mr Schofield's caravan was recovered after the vehicle being used to tow it was involved in an accident where he collided with another van, causing the caravan to come loose and come to a stop at the central reservation, blocking the lane.
"Due to this, we recovered the vehicle as standard procedure and despite being told this numerous times on the phone, Mr Schofield didn't accept this as a reason and was verbally abusive."
However, Craig has been left unsatisfied with the response, adding: "It’s a total fabrication of the truth. The Recovery Company say it’s a police matter."
He claims he spoke to an officer who was unwilling to say who made the decision to seize it rather than assist a recovery for him as was directed initially by the officer at the roadside.
"I never hit any other vehicle. I was on the road alone when this happened. It slowly clipped the central reservation. No other vehicles were involved. It’s a lie. All I want is my caravan returning as they seized it and went inside my caravan to search it.
"They gave me no crime reference number and there were no other vehicles involved, if there were, what are the details for this other vehicle? It was taken to Warhol Hill Industrial as I tracked it. Then the recovery driver told me it was gone and that I couldn't get access due to police instructions.
"I could not access my property in the caravan - specifically, Mr South’s mental medication. I just want my caravan to return with all our personal possessions. Police have body cams and notes, so why don't they see what went on?
"I was treated just like a criminal. I have never been in trouble with the police in 57 years."
The Mirror has contacted Derbyshire Police for further comment.
