A Stow woman claims she is unable to compete for Scotland due to costs after her car was written off in an accident involving a lorry working on the Borders Railway project.
Last month, a truck driver for Allens Transport, sub-contractors of Borders Railway builders BAM Nuttall, drove into nursing assistant Nickie Keene’s Peugeot 207 in the village’s Station Road, wrecking the vehicle she had only had for six weeks.
Since then, Nickie says her expenses have amounted to nearly £1,000 due to a loss of earnings, a deposit for a new car, hiring a courtesy vehicle and other costs.
She told us: “I was hoping that the company involved would have been in touch or even made a goodwill payment, but they haven’t.
“I have had to use my money that I put aside for my shooting to cover it, which means I will miss out in competitions for the Scotland and Great Britain teams, pretty much ending my season before it has really begun, which is a great disappointment.”
She added: “The lawyers who are dealing with it through my insurance company believe it will take up to six months to sort out. It is a headache that has had a massive impact on my personal life.”
A Network Rail spokeswoman said: “At the time of the incident the project apologised for the damage caused to the vehicle. Full details were recorded and the claim is subsequently being processed through official channels.”
Nickie told us previously about the crash: “I heard this almighty bang and when I went out to my car, it was wrecked, basically. The truck driver said he had seen another truck coming in the opposite direction and panicked, swerved and hit my vehicle.”
A BAM spokesman said at the time: “We are extremely disappointed a truck has been involved in hitting this lady’s car. The contractor involved has followed the correct procedure.”