I bought an EV but now it makes me so anxious I want to be SICK… we have to queue 2 hours just to charge
A FUMING driver has told how he wanted to get sick after queuing for two hours to charge his EV.
George from Devon had to wait under the rain to charge his Peugeot at Leigh Delamere Eastbound service station.
George, 28, and his partner Miriam were travelling from Okehampton, Devon, up to London when their Peugeot 2008 run out of charge.
The pair were forced to make a 40-mile detour to plug their vehicle with only a 200-mile range left.
But what should have been a quick and smooth stop at the charging station ended in total chaos.
The shocked couple found themselves stuck for more than two hours under the pouring rain queuing for a plug.
George said: “It was causing me so much anxiety I thought I’d be sick.
“And now we’re here, we’ll have to wait about two hours before we can plug in, then another 45 minutes to give us enough power to complete the journey to London.
The angry car owner said it was the “most stressful” journey they’ve ever undertaken and “an absolute joke”.
Leigh Delamere Eastbound is Wiltshire’s most famous service station popular among EV drivers.
The M4 motorway services is located a mile west of Junction 17 between Bristol and Swindon.
But people are now branding it a fiasco as charging spots can’t keep up with the high demand.
Dozens of drivers like George flock to the only charging point in the area to plug their cars.
George slammed: “Motorists were promised an electric car revolution and what have we got..?
“A single power point with a long queue of angry motorists.”
He said that more charging points should be available at motorway services to keep drivers on the road.
However, the reality is way harsher as EV drivers are still suffering the consequences of charging blackspots.
Data from the Department for Transport showed that large areas like Somerset, Cumbria and Yorkshire don’t have a single charging spot.
Another study from manufacturer Vauxhall found some UK councils have no roadside charging points at all in their areas.
Fellow EV driver Russel Rich at the same services added: “I had it all planned and I thought we’d be straight into charging mode, but instead we could be waiting for hours.
“It’s just not good enough, frankly.
“We tried the services at Gordano near Bristol first and there were two universal chargers there, but only one of them was working.
“Yet Tesla have installed around 20 charging points there, but none of them can be used by cars other than Teslas. And all of them were empty.”
It comes as other residents revealed their town is being ruined by EV car parks taking all of their spots and it’s only getting worse.
Incensed locals hit out after North Northamptonshire Council is considering installing nine new EV charging points in six towns.
Elsewhere, another couple revealed that their road trip was ruined by a problem with their EV meaning they had to be towed 37 miles.
Emily Ralph and her partner were driving through the rural United States when their rented Hyundai Ioniq Q5 ran out of charge.