Border Force thought mum who was ‘decapitated internally’ was a drug smuggler
A British mum who was ‘internally decapitated’ in a freak accident says she was accused of drug smuggling by UK Border Force.
Rach Pighills needed life-saving brain surgery in Spain after the whirring blades of a ceiling fan caused her a devastating brain injury.
The impact resulted in the 36-year-old suffering a rare condition which left her brain sinking into her spine, leaving her at risk of paralysis of death any time she turned.
Since the August 2018 accident, Rachel and husband Guy, 41, have raised £251,000 for pioneering surgery not available on the NHS.
A generous interest-free loan of £130,000 from a woman in Warwickshire meant she could finally travel to Barcelona for the procedure, driven there in a second-hand ambulance by her husband as flying was too risky.
The 13-and-a-half-hour surgery on May 20 involved inserting metal rods into her spine and re-setting the position of her skull and brain stem.
The operation was a success and after almost four weeks in hospital, Rachel and Guy drove back to the UK on June 17.
But after a 20-hour overnight ferry from Santander to Plymouth, they were stopped by officials who accused them of bringing narcotics into the country, they claim.
Disturbing images show a sobbing Rachel lying on a stretcher while connected to an oxygen tank inside a warehouse at the docks.
They said it took them four hours to complete their fine tooth comb search of the ambulance before letting them continue on their journey.
In an ironic twist, the couple say the officials and sniffer dogs failed to detect powerful opiates which Rachel had been given by the clinic to control the pain.
The couple, who have a 14-year-old daughter, eventually made it back home to their home in Worcestershire.
Rachel said: ‘After all we’ve been through, after the operation we were so looking forward to coming home.
‘When we arrived in Plymouth border force literally leapt on our vehicle and accused us of being drug smugglers.
‘I couldn’t believe it. We had all the documentation but they wouldn’t listen. One of them was really rude and looked quite disappointed when they couldn’t find anything.
‘Bizarrely, neither the sniffer dog or the officials found the big bag of opiates and painkillers I’d been given by the clinic.’
Guy, who had been forced to drive at just 40mph to avoid any sudden movements, comforted his wife while they were ‘treated like criminals’.
He said: ‘They stripped the panels took the air panels off and shoved a camera everywhere and they found nothing.
‘It was horrendous, it was painful for Rachel and it has affected her recovery and set her back.
‘They asked her to get off the stretcher but we wanted her to stay which made them suspicious that we were trying to hide something.
‘They made us wheel Rachel off the ambulance and bless her, she was screaming her head off when she was going down and then they stripped the ambulance and this affected her breathing and her oxygen levels due to the stress that this caused her.
‘They made us wheel the luggage off. We took months worth of Rachel’s medication but the dog didn’t even find that. All they found was a £20 note in Rachel’s purse.
‘As soon as we propped her up and they could see the dressing all down her back the mood changed. But we didn’t get an apology. It was the most traumatic experience I’ve ever been through.
‘We are British citizens, we have paid our way our whole lives. It’s a disgrace.’
Metro.co.uk has contacted Border Force for comment.
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