Shropshire Big Brother legend Craig Phillips shares 'horrifying' electric Jaguar ordeal
Shropshire's Big Brother legend Craig Phillips has told of his fear when the brakes failed on his Jaguar I-Pace electric vehicle while he was driving.
The show's first ever winner, who lived in Newport, told of the dramatic incident after a report of a car of the same model having to be flanked by police on the M62 after a possible malfunction.
Craig, 52, told the BBC it was "terrifying" to feel "out of control" of the vehicle while his family were also inside.
Jaguar said it was investigating and took the two incidents - both the one involving Craig and the one on the M62 - seriously.
Earlier this week, another I-Pace driver claimed to have found himself unable to brake on a motorway as the car accelerated and had to be flanked by police.
"Following the incident involving a Jaguar I-Pace on the M62 on the afternoon of 6th March, we are looking into this matter with urgency," Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) told the BBC.
"A full review is underway to determine the cause of this incident, which is still yet to be established. The safety of our clients and vehicles is JLR's highest priority."
Mr Phillips' experience was first reported by the Daily Mail, and happened on New Year's Eve 2023.
He told the BBC: "In the afternoon, I'd set off from home with my wife and kids in the back of the car. I'd barely gone a mile from home and as I came to traffic lights, travelling at about 30mph, three cars away from the lights I could not brake.
"I was pushing on the pedal, but the hydraulic felt like it was pushing my foot up. My whole body was locked up trying to push down on the brake."
He said fortunately the lights then changed from red as he could not have physically stopped.
"I immediately returned home really slowly. I didn't want to go above 10 to 15mph. I would not want anyone else to be in the same situation, particularly with children in the back."
He had owned the car for more than three years and has now returned it. He called for a full recall of the model by Jaguar as a safety precaution.
Jaguar was already due to end production of the I-Pace, which was its first electric car, next year
A Jaguar Land Rover spokesperson said: "We are taking these recent claims by Mr Phillips very seriously and are looking into his complaint. In addition we are concerned to hear that Mr Phillips may not have received the high levels of care to which we hold ourselves accountable.
"Our client experience as well as the safety of our clients and vehicles is JLR's highest priority."
Like many electric vehicles, the Jaguar I-Pace offers regenerative braking, in which the energy created as the car brakes is re-captured and sent back to the battery. Thousands of the cars have been sold in the UK since 2018, which cost nearly £70,000.
In 2019, some Jaguar I-Pace vehicles were recalled in North America because of a fault with the system.
Jaguar was already due to end production of the I-Pace, which was its first electric car, next year.
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