The owner of a pink VW Camper which was swamped by the tide after getting trapped on a beach has pleaded for help to save her livelihood.
Kitty Orme, from Cheshire, had to watch in horror as her 1978 VW Camper was left submerged by the sea after getting stuck on Black Rock Sands in Gwynedd on Monday.
The photographer has built up a successful business after converting the previously dilapidated van into a pink photo booth on wheels, which she affectionately calls Birdie.
They travel the UK attending festivals, weddings and fashion shoots, and on Monday afternoon were working on a long awaited 1970s themed photo shoot on the beach, which had been rearranged due to coronavirus.
As the tide came in, Kitty and her colleagues were desperately trying to rescue all the props when the camper became stuck in the sand, locking the steering, reports CheshireLive.
Recounting the experience on Facebook, Kitty said: "We tried for several hours to rescue Birdie from the rising tide but our transporter (bought just before lockdown to help us get all our gorgeous vehicles to all our weddings throughout the country) also got stuck and both the camper on a trailer and the transporter were stranded until 1am this morning - until the tide went back out.
"By this time the water had risen 4 and a half metres high and other than saving the pups in the back we had to leave everything else inside both campers and all our most personal belongings behind... some sentimental pieces that were irreplaceable.
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"Now on a sofa unable to sleep, in a house belonging to a lady who helped us on the beach, 100 miles from home, in the same wet clothes from this afternoon, wrapped in a blanket donated to us by a couple who also helped all they could ... and nothing to my name .... I write this ... as I don’t know what else I can do to try to save Birdie, the business and our livelihoods," she added.
Kitty has been left devastated by the incident, which comes after an already difficult year having weddings and event work cancelled or postponed, and no income since March.
She is estimating the loss of yesterday's events at £60,000 and more with the impact of not having a camper, trailer and transporter to get Birdie to weddings in the future, so has launched a Crowdfunding page which she hopes will manage to save Birdie.
"If every one of our 12 thousand plus followers donated a pound we could afford to restore Birdie back to what she once was....and rebuild the business ... making thousands of people smile and giving them the wedding day they’d always wanted," wrote Kitty.
"Please share and help us in any way you can.
Kitty's Save Birdie campaign has already raised more than £4,000 of her £20,000 target. You can donate here.
