Blackpool circus performer injured by caravan gas explosion

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by Jack Beresford

The performers of Gerry Cottle’s Wow! Circus are today wishing for the speedy recovery of co-star Jumma Karani after he was injured in a serious explosion aboard his caravan.

As the Blackpool Gazette reports, the 28-year-old Ghanaian suffered severe burns to his head arms and legs after a 19kg propane gas cylinder exploded aboard his caravan.

The incident occurred at the Burton Road Industrial Estate in Marton at 11am on Tuesday (23 October). Mr Karani was subsequently airlifted to hospital following the blast.

One of his colleagues, Gareth Ellis told the news provider: “The explosion was just like a fireball.

“We don’t really know what happened. He had a problem with his gas cooker.”

He is now being treated in the specialist burns unit of the Wythenshawe Hospital and is said to be in a critical but stable condition.

Firefighters are now investigating the cause of the explosion.

It follows a ‘<' . strtolower('Array') href="http://www.caravantimes.co.uk/news/parks/south-east/caravanner-rushed-to-hospital-after-surrey-camp-site-blaze-$21381776.htm">similar accident aboard a tourer in east Surrey last August, which left a 30-year-old male with serious burns.

Top tips on checking the running gear on a used caravan

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by Chris Jefferies
When buying a used caravan there is an abundance of options to choose from, whether you’re researching on eBay or talking to your local dealer.
And while some caravans make seem like an absolute bargain, many are just too good to be true, with hidden faults that can cost a fortune to repair.
So, it’s important to know exactly what to look for and what exactly are the telltale signs of a knackered caravan.
With this in mind, Towergate Insurance has recently published a new guide to checking the running gear on a used caravan.
The running gear comprises all the items on a caravan that make it road legal, they explain, and being able to determine the state of these parts is crucial.
The insurance provider also recommends take a test drive with your potential purchase hitched onto the back, something which surprisingly few buyers opt to do.
To read more tips for inspecting a used caravan, read Towergate’s original article: Checking your running gear.

Winter booking rush brings festive cheer to Camping & Caravanning Club

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by Jack Beresford

The Camping and Caravanning Club is already preparing to deck the halls with boughs of holly, as it prepares for a hectic Christmas period of festive holiday bookings.

Figures produced by the organisation show that there has already been a 25 per cent increase in the number of bookings seen at its various UK-based sites, when compared with the same period last year.

The boost comes as friends and family alike look to enjoy an inexpensive winter holiday during a traditionally costly time of year.

In a bid to attract even more visitors to its sites, the Camping and Caravanning Club is offering prices of £9.35 per night per adult on 24 of its standard sites and a further eight Camping in the Forest Sites, which will all be open over Christmas and the New Year.

Camping could help wash away the winter blues too, with research from the Club, in partnership with Liverpool John Moore’s University, showing that 93 per cent of survey respondents agreed with the sentiment that camping can make you happier.

Bailey Olympus II wins three awards at Caravan Club ceremony

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by Jack Beresford

Bailey was the name on everyone’s lips at the recent Caravan Club Caravan Design Awards & Lightweight Trailer Awards, with the Alu-Tech manufacturer walking home with four awards.

A panel of expert judges and technical researchers rigorously examined each tourer, with factors such as sitting comfort, kitchen design, storage, headroom security and specification of tyres among others.

And it was the Bailey Olympus Series II range that came out on top, with the three of these vehicles picking up category awards at the ceremony, which took place at the Birmingham NEC on 19 October.

The Olympus 530-4 kept hold of its Best Caravan with Dedicated Bed(s) worth £14,000 to £17,000 honour alongside the accolade for best Small Family Caravan priced between £14,000 and £17,000.

Elsewhere, the Olympus 540-5 also took home the best Large Family Caravan award in the £14,000 to £17,000 class and there was also an award for the Bailey Unicorn Series II, with the Barcelona model claiming victory in the ‘Any Caravan £21,000-£25,000’ category.

It was also a very successful week for Elddis, who picked up two overall wins. The Elddis Affinity 530 came out on top in the £17,000-£21,000 category, while the ‘<' . strtolower('Array') href="/elddis/elddis-avante/">Elddis Avante 462 was named the best two-berth caravans between £14,000 and £17,000.

VIDEO: Why is touring caravan insurance so important?

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by Chris Jefferies
The cost of getting your first caravan can quickly mount up when you consider things such as servicing, insurance and petrol costs.
With this in mind it can be tempting to cut corners in an attempt to save money, especially as caravan insurance isn’t a legal requirement, but that logic doesn’t always make sense.
In this video, we speak to Rob Walton from Simple Caravan Insurance, who explains that opting not to take out caravan insurance can be more expensive in the long run.
We also talk about some of the situations where touring caravan insurance can prove to be a massive help.
Thanks to Old Hall Touring Park and Kenmore Caravans for their help with this video.

Couple in near-miss as lorry smashes into broken down caravan

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by Jack Beresford

With a broken-down caravan stranded on the side of a motorway, this couple could be forgiven for thinking that their day couldn’t get any worse – until their tourer was hit by a lorry.

The unnamed pair had been heading eastbound on the A27 between Emsworth and Chichester at around 12.45pm on Monday (22 October) at the time of the incident, as Portsmouth.co.uk reports.

After breaking down on the busy stretch of road, the couple adhered to the usual rules in such a situation – stepping out of their tow car and standing behind the roadside barrier while a breakdown service made its way to them.

It proved to be a telling move, with a lorry arriving minutes later, only to slam into the broken down tourer causing havoc across the highway.

The caravan was sent toppling into the middle of the road, while the presence of gas canisters saw firefighters called to the scene.

No one was injured, although the accident caused serious delays to other road users and highlighted the importance of leaving your vehicle in the event of a breakdown.

George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces brings caravan chic to Channel 4

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by Chris Jefferies
Caravan restoration fans are in for a treat over the next few weeks, as Channel 4’s latest series is focusing on the growing trend for turning unusual spaces into something special.
Hosted by architect George Clarke, Amazing Spaces features a couple who plan to turn an old bus into a holiday home, and a public toilet that has been turned into a cosy apartment.
Inspired by these stories, George undertakes his own project – a retro caravan restoration. He starts with some slapdash eBay research and ends up spending £300 on a 1970s static caravan.
Upon visiting a caravan site, he enthuses: “It just brings back so many fantastic memories – nothing posh, nothing fancy, but super functional.”
TV critics have hailed the show as “neat, modest and perfectly formed”, and “Grand Designs on a hundredth of the budget”.
If you missed last night’s show, then be sure to tune in next week (Tuesday 30 October, 8pm), when a shipping container will be done up, and there’s an update on George’s new caravan.
Alternatively, if you want to catch up on the first episode, then you can watch it in full on 4OD.

2012 NEC Motorhome and Caravan Show smashes visitor record

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by Jack Beresford

Last week saw Birmingham transformed into the global hub for all things caravanning, as the annual Motorhome amd Caravan Show took place at the NEC arena.

And it proved to be a roaring success, with a record-breaking 98,058 visitors arriving over the course of the exhibition of caravan world’s finest vehicles.

This number was up five per cent on the 93,323 visitors seen at the 2011 show, with the additional space afforded to this year’s event proving well worth it.

Sales figures proved similarly impressive, with manufacturers such as Bailey, Elddis, Lunar, Coachman and Trigano enjoying a memorable week with a number of new models making their debuts along the way.

It was a particularly good week for Swift Group, who have announced total sales figures of £21m, with £9m being spent on motorhomes alone.

Organised by NCC Events, the exhibitions arm of the National Caravan Council, the company’s chief executive John Lally described the success of the event as “exceptional”.

“The atmosphere in the halls has been upbeat with everyone pulling together to stage a spectacular display for the tens of thousands of consumers that made the effort to visit,” he said.

While 14,144 people visited on the opening day of the event, attendance truly soared over the weekend with 27,176 arriving on Saturday, while a further 17,820 arrived on Sunday.

VIDEO: Choosing the right motor mover for your caravan

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by Chris Jefferies
Fitting a motor mover to your touring caravan is becoming an increasingly popular move for many people, but with so many options out there it can be quite confusing.
In this video, we’ve been talking to Adrian Bishop from Powrwheel, who make the UK’s most popular range of motor movers.
He explains the difference between automatic and manual motor movers and shows us how to engage the mover to the caravan’s wheels.
We also find out what makes the new Powrwheel Evolution range an improvement on their previous version of caravan mover.

One in ten lottery winners treat themselves to a new caravan

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by Arash Hekmat

Whether we like to admit it or not, we’ve all secretly thought about what indulgences we’d treat ourselves to following that most unlikely of things: a win on the National Lottery.

But for the 3,000 millionaire Lotto winners whose dreams have become reality over the last 18 years since the competition was launched, the objects of their desires are not always as extravagant as you might expect.

In fact, a study of those who have won more than £1 million on the lottery reveals that one in ten put some of their jackpot winnings towards a new caravan.

Interestingly, only four-fifths decided to give up their jobs, even though that would be at the top of most people’s list of things to do after double-checking those lucky numbers.

The Oxford Economics research, conducted on behalf of the National Lottery, revealed that one in three purchased a Jacuzzi, while a third took on hired help.

Despite possessing a combined fortune of £8.5 billion, these lucky so-and-sos were more likely to holiday in the US than anywhere else, with nearly a third still refusing to pay for five-star accommodation during their holiday.

Cumbrian holiday park struggling to cope with autumn downpour

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by Arash Hekmat

The owner of a caravan park in the North West of England is pumping as much as a million litres of water off the site every single day in order to avoid flooding.

Port Haverigg Holiday Village is suffering more than most because of the soaking autumn that has followed a much wetter than average summer.

Speaking to in-cumbria.com, the owner of the site said that Hodbarrow lagoon has had a million litres of water pumped out every day over the past three weeks, but it’s proving to be a losing battle.

“In all the years we’ve owned it – we bought it in 1986 – it has never been like this,” he added. “The water would have to rise by another three feet for it to cause trouble.”

Port Haverigg Holiday Village is currently listed for sale, according to the publication, along with Butterflowers Caravan Site, also in the town.

The holiday village is open all year round and is spread around the private 200-acre lake.

Club Care Insurance launches caravan theft alert system

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by Jack Beresford

Caravan owners may be advised to make use of a new online theft alert facility, after a study by Club Care Insurance highlighted the low number of stolen caravans that are recovered after theft.

According to the figures from the cover provider, on average just three per cent of tourers that are taken from their current owners are finding their way back to them.

The statistic makes concerning reading for Club Care client director Nigel Coppen who estimates that some 5,000 caravans are stolen each year across the UK.

In a bid to deal with this ongoing problem, Club Care Insurance has developed the new Caravan Theft Alerts System.

Launched at the Motorhome & Caravan Show at the NEC in Birmingham last week, the new system is supported by the Association of Chief Police Officers Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service.

The mobile-friendly system will offer a facility for insurers and owners alike to report their stolen caravans via the Caravan Thefts Alerts website: caravantheftalerts.co.uk

Mr Coppen said: “We launched this system to allow the caravanning community to use the internet and social media to report their stolen caravans and to encourage the general public to report any sightings.”

Any confirmed sightings are then passed on to police, with cash rewards potentially available upon retrieval.