Midlothian woman rescued by 'entire football team' as vehicle trapped in mud
A Midlothian business owner was rescued by selfless residents after she found her van completely trapped in mud.
Melanie Dunbar owns a mobile coffee business - Brew 52 - which she operates out of her van to cater community events.
The Penicuik resident often works local sporting events, such as football games.
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The 52-year-old found herself in the sticky situation while catering a youth football match at the Glencourse Centre in Penicuik on Sunday, February 2.
Upon arriving, Melanie found the car park busy and opted for an alternative route to her destination through a muddy patch of grass.
However, she soon found herself trapped in the deep mud with her wheels spinning.
The business owner said, "I was going to burn out my clutch. The back wheels were completely sunk in.
"My mind went blank and I thought, 'How do I get out of this situation?'"
Melanie soon found herself flooded with support as the entire football match came to a halt with locals pitching in to help free her van.
The football coaches first tried to wedge planks under the wheels to help the vehicle escape.
When this didn't work, the coaches called all the football players over to help. Melanie estimated they were boys aged just 11 or 12.
She said: "It was such a positive, affirming experience, it was really lovely.
"From the outset, everyone was trying to help me. The entire football team came to help push me out. They got so muddy because it was a patch of solid mud.
"And they were loving it, I think it was exciting for them. A wee break from the norm."
In the end, the van was too stuck for even the football team to budge it. Melanie put out a call on a local Facebook group asking for someone to tow the van out of the mud.
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Less than 30 minutes later, a Penicuik local had answered the call and arrived with a pickup truck and tow rope.
Melanie said that someone even helped stop traffic while the van was being towed from the mud.
The support Melanie saw in Penicuik is not the first time she’s experienced unexpected kindness from strangers. At a cross-country match, she found herself in a similar bind when the van became trapped on the course and a team of runners helped push her van to safety.
Melanie added: "It's really nice living in a community where you’re not going to be stuck for long. I felt confident that someone would come to help me.
"I didn’t know any of them. It was so nice that they all stopped what they were doing to help."
For the past three years, Brew 52 has brought locally sourced coffee to homes, offices, and community events.
The business is based in Penicuik but caters to many surrounding areas. They will be at the Innocent Half Marathon in Edinburgh on Feb 23rd.
You can follow Melanie's business on Instagram and Facebook to find out when she might be in your area.
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