Mother of the year! Woman, 57, drove for eight hours to pick up her daughter after she was stranded in Belgium by Eurostar cancellations

Jade and Sam's dream break turned into a nightmare when could not get homeJoanna and Grahame Mitchell drove eight hours to get them home to Kent 

A hero mother drove to Belgium in a stunning eight-hour round trip after Eurostar cancellations gave her ‘no choice’ but to travel more than 250 miles to rescue her daughter.

Joanna Mitchell, 57, and husband Grahame Mitchell, also 57, drove from Whitstable, Kent, to Bruges after their daughter Jade, 34, was stranded by cancellations on the channel-crossing train.

Teacher Jade and her husband Sam had left their 18 month and five-year-old children with his parents for the first time ever as they looked forward to a Christmas break – but their dream four days away turned into a nightmare as they found out they could not get home.

After finding out their train was cancelled over social media, the couple soon found there was nowhere in the historic city they could stay that night as they desperately tried to find a way to get back to their little children.

Eurostar cancelled all of its services on Saturday, leaving around 30,000 furious passengers unable to move in London after flooding hit the major tunnel connecting Britain to mainland Europe.

Joanna, who runs a community care company, said: ‘We really had no choice. Otherwise, my daughter would have been stranded out in in Belgium.

Joanna Mitchell, 57, and husband Grahame Mitchell, also 57, (pictured together) drove from Whitstable, Kent, to Bruges after their daughter Jade, 34, was stranded by cancellations on the channel-crossing train

Teacher Jade and her husband Sam had left their 18 month and 5-year-old children with his parents for the first time ever as they looked forward to a Christmas break – but their dream four days away turned into a nightmare as they found out they could not get home

Passengers at Eurostar terminal at St Pancras International after all trains were cancelled

‘There’s no guarantee they’d get home tomorrow and they had nowhere to sleep, nowhere to stay because everything was fully booked in the city for New Year’s Eve.

‘Over the phone was complete tears, the lot. Because all she wanted to do was get home to her children.

‘Eurostar offered no alternative. It was your train’s cancelled, end of. People have saved up a lot of money to plan these trips at peak times so I just feel their communication could have been a lot clearer and a lot better.

‘For people that are abroad, trying to get back home – offer an alternative offer solution rather than just create the problem.’

In an update posted on its website, Eurostar said passengers can reschedule their booking free of charge or cancel their booking for either a credit note or a refund.

Joanna ended up paying just under £500 in tickets to get across the channel to get her daughter and son-in-law home.

Setting off at 10.30am, she and Grahame only got home at 6.30pm – nearly exactly eight hours later.

Jade and Sam had left their children with Sam’s parents, and they were looking at an impossible task to get home as their hotel told them they were all booked up for the night and they couldn’t extend their stay.

Her parents decided to take the Eurotunnel across to Calais before driving up to Bruges – only stopping to pick up some Belgian beers for when they got home.

Joanna continued: ‘It’s their first time away from their kids who are five and 18-months-old. The other grandparents are babysitting and she was very anxious about leaving them in the first place.

Jade and Sam had left their children with Sam’s parents, and they were looking at an impossible task to get home as their hotel told them they were all booked up for the night and they couldn’t extend their stay. Pictured: In the back of Joanna’s car finally on their way home

But even when they had collected Jade and Sam the Kent couple’s problems had not come to an end – as they were forced to wait an hour to get through passport control in France (pictured)

‘We were like: “Just crack on go have a break.” Every parent needs a break from their horrible little children!

‘They had a lovely, lovely time and were forward to traveling home today.’

Talking about the huge journey, Joanna said she was happy to do it for her child.

She added: ‘They needed to get home.’

But even when they had collected Jade and Sam the Kent couple’s problems had not come to an end – as they were forced to wait an hour to get through passport control in France.

And Sam after a restless day Sam has now had to be driven by his father to Ebbsfleet where he left his car, so he doesn’t get fined for overstaying his parking.

Speaking from her driveway at the end of the stressful journey, Joanna said she was looking forward to a cold drink to calm her nerves.

She joked: ‘I’ve got an Italian one chillin in the fridge that’s been waiting for the last 30 minute so the Belgian ones have got time to cool down!

Joanna and Grahame crossed the channel on the Eurotunnel (pictured) before driving up through France to Belgium

The queue for passport control was extremely long, and was packed with other tourists trying to get home through another route

‘Wait for the New Year? Absolutely not! They’ll be gone in the next hour – we deserve it!

‘I’ve said – just remember it’s Mother’s Day in March! She’d better pull out the stops otherwise I’ll take her back!

‘We’re sitting here thinking: “Yeah! Parents of the year!” It was that or we babysat – so these are the extremes we go to to get out of babysitting!’

Eurostar said in a statement late on Saturday that the flooding in the tunnels had been brought back under control but speed restructions will be in place for trains running in the morning.

On Saturday the water brought international rail traffic between London and the European mainland to a halt, disrupting New Year travel for thousands of passengers – the second major headache for customers this holiday season.

It came just a week after a surprise industrial strike by French workers thwarted Christmas travel plans for thousands on December 21.

It was not immediately clear what had caused the flooding in the railway tunnels under the River Thames near Ebbsfleet, east of London.

Television footage showed water gushing into one of the tunnels and covering the track, while at St Pancras station in London hundreds of stranded passengers with suitcases sat waiting on the concourse.

Many hoping to ring in 2024 with a romantic night in Paris, watch fireworks from the ski slope or enjoy a family holiday to Disneyland have been left devastated, with some left in tears on yesterday afternoon at St Pancras International.