A West Lothian mum has thanked the kind hearted strangers who went out of their way to help her when her car became stranded.
Julie Nelson, 37, had experienced a "perfect storm" after her car suddenly broke down in miserable weather on Tuesday evening, with her phone service not working.
Around 15 miles away from her home near Livingston, the mum-of-two had been on her way to pick up her kids when the car began to experience issues just off the M8.
Hoping she could make it to her destination, Julie's car came to a halt at a traffic light junction, leaving her with no phone and no way of moving the vehicle.
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Speaking to Edinburgh Live, she said: "It was around 7.15pm and I'd just come off the motorway when my battery light came on, the car is automatic but it's 18-years-old and I could feel it wasn't coming out of fifth gear.
"I had tried to make it to my ex's house where my kids were to phone recovery from there but the car just stopped at a traffic light, I couldn't even pull in.
"I had known my mobile service was down about half an hour before I left but it was a perfect storm as I couldn't let anyone know what had happened and it all went wrong."
With no easy way of getting help, Julie had got out of the car and after approaching passers-by had finally got help from two "lovely" women who came to her rescue.
Julie added: "I was there a few minutes when a man passed me with his dog, I tried to speak to him but he just said 'I'm walking my dog sorry' and kept going.
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"Then I saw him pass two women at the end of the path so I went and approached them and I was so grateful for them.
"They let me use their phones to call my ex and tell him I wouldn't be able to make it to get my kids, then one of the women left and came back in her car to take me to the Shell garage."
After arriving at the garage, kind staff also helped Julie use their landline to call the RAC, as well as their wifi hotspots so she could find her email policy.
Despite the ordeal, Julie explained that the kindness and help from "complete strangers" had outweighed the stress and inconvenience of the break down.
She continued: "It was really heartwarming to see other women who were complete strangers go out of their way to help me out, and I want them to know how grateful I am.
"I've had a bad run of luck in the last couple of months but they were such kind people who somehow managed to make it a great experience."
