Vauxhall issues handbrake alert on 250,000 vehicles

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The free modification involves putting a spring into the braking system of Vectras and Signums made since 2002 to stop the handbrake slipping on a cog if applied using the release button.

Vauxhall insists it is not issuing a safety recall, calling the move a "customer satisfaction programme".

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Vauxhall is upgrading its handbrake systems on 250,000 Vectras and Signums

But many owners have become alarmed after finding their handbrakes were not effective.

Several cars were damaged while some drivers have reported minor injuries.

Eight weeks after Caroline Pearce, of Portadown, Northern Ireland, bought her new Vectra, it rolled down her drive and wrote off a neighbour's car.

She said: "Lots of children live around my home. It was lucky most were having their tea.

"If this had happened any later there would have been terrible results. This thought has haunted me ever since."

The problems were first made public by the consumer group Which? last July.

They were then taken up by the BBC's Watchdog programme.

Vauxhall initially denied there was a safety problem. Yesterday it said the handbrake was "safe" but admitted: "It is possible to manipulate the handbrake so as to cause it to release partially.

"Vauxhall has decided to implement a modification to reduce the possibility of a partial release."

It follows a recall of 345,634 Vauxhall Corsas, Tigras and Combos last December to modify the braking system after several cars caught fire.