Crash wrecks holiday for German trippers

The crash happened near to the bend of the Bridge pub on bank holiday Monday when the Rye area was invaded by hundreds of bikers.

Peter Schroer, from Dusseldorf, said: “Since early last year Ele and I have been planning a trip to England.

“We have always loved England. Ele grew up in Paignton, Devon, and I came to England for the first time when I was 15. My father sent me to Hastings because my English was lousy at school.

“We even have the English flag waving at our flagpole at home in Dusseldorf.

“Our plan was to drive along the coast down to Paignton, Devon, where Ele grew up, and from there to Land´s End. Then further along the Irish Sea up to Scotland.

“We were driving along the A259 slowly, full of admiration for the beautiful English houses and the wonderful gardens we saw on our way.

“Arriving at Rye we realised there were very many motorcyclists standing around in the sun. We drove through Rye and a few miles further at Winchelsea I couldn’t believe my eyes.

“The bike smashed into the lower part of our motorhome and the rider crashed into the windscreen with his head, just in front of Ele. My wife could have been killed.

“So we came to England and were only able to enjoy our trip for about one and a half hours before the crash put an end to all our dreams.

“I would like to thank the JC Leisure crew, at Winchelse especially Mr. Dave Waller for giving us all the help we needed. They gave us a place where we could park our damaged car and they also provided us with electricity and water so that we could remain inside and take care of our three little doggies that were completely messed up and scared.

“After at least 100 phone calls and many discussions about what to do with the damaged car, a breakdown lorry was sent from Moenchengladbach in Germany to Winchelsea and we were back in Germany on Thursday.

“So our planned two month trip through the UK only lasted for three days which was a shame. But don’t worry, we will come back and give it another try next year. But never ever again will we travel on a bank holiday, especially not when the sun is shining albeit it only for half an hour.”