The Coastguard has issued a shipping warning for the Bristol Channel after a car got swept out to sea.

A brand-new Vauxhall Corsa hire car got stuck in some soft sand in Mumbles, in Swansea, and then was brushed out to sea during the high tide and now the coastguard crews are concerned that it could be floating anywhere in the Channel, one of Britain’s busiest shipping lanes.

The male driver and his wife managed to escape the car long before it became submerged on the slipway to the water’s edge but despite a two-hour emergency services attempt they were still unable to recover the vehicle.

Officials have alerted all vessels in the Channel to be cautious after fears it has drifted all the way to the Devon coast due to the sea currents.

A spokesperson for Swansea Coastguard said: “A local recovery service was called out, but they were unable to recover the vehicle.

“We broadcast navigation warnings every four hours, and in that broadcast today we have asked vessels to look out for a silver Vauxhall Corsa.”

A spokesperson for the Maritime Coastguard Agency said that the coastguard rescue team helped a woman from the car when the water was one foot from the front of the vehicle.

Robinsons International are experts in moving overseas and because we do offer international shipping services, it is important that we stay up-to-date with what is going on in the industry.

As an international shipping company, we ship antiques and furniture to varying countries across the world so it is likely that we do enter the Channel. And the irony is that we can also help consumers ship their cars with a specialist shipping container.

Hundreds of thousands of homeowners are stuck in their first homes because their parents are hogging up the housing market, according to a report by HSBC.

Findings by the banking giant show that as many as 360,000 buyers who bought their starter homes in 2007 are trapped in them and unable to move up the property ladder.

The research revealed that properties from four years ago have not appreciated in value and some are even worth less than what they were paid for. As a result, the generation gap is having serious implications on when families have children and how many children they have.

The study found that the average first-time buyer property in 2007 cost £160,000 and needed a 10% deposit but since then the property prices have dropped by on average £11,000. And according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders the average age of a first-time buyer is now 31 but only if they have financial help from parents- if not, the age rises to 37.

One mother told The Mail Online: “It seems cruel, doesn’t it, that a financial crisis and a property slump could determine the size of your family?”

Many first-time buyers who are trying to buy a home have to fork out a massive 30% deposit nowadays, leaving many Brits unable to borrow or save their way through the dilemma.

Now David Cameron has vowed to improve the housing market and ‘get Britain building’. The Prime Minister has said that buyers of new homes will be able to borrow up to 95% of the value in a bid to help Brits get onto the property ladder.

Let’s hope the government plans come into fruition and more people can afford to buy their starter home, hire Robinsons international removals and begin an exciting new life together!

Image Courtesy of Images_of_Money’s and reused under the terms of the Creative Commons Licence.

The best new homes in Britain have been named in the Daily Telegraph’s Homebuilding and Renovating Awards 2011.

The newspaper’s annual award takes place to search for Britain’s best home makers and it commends people who have converted their home, created an extension on the existing building or produced a complete self-build.

It recognises the achievements of self-builders, renovators and barn converters across Britain. And the lucky winners have finally been announced!

Jason Orme, editor of Homebuilding & Renovating magazine, and one of the three judges, said: “It’s the 19th year these awards have been running and each time, the stories we unearth manage to top the stories from the previous year.”

The categories included;

- Traditional Self Build

- Residential Design

- Eco House

- Remodel/Extension

- Conversion

- Renovation

- Value for Money

- Contemporary

- Overall Winner

The various awards recognise projects that improve old homes to bring them up-to-date; distinguish self-built or renovated homes that have gone beyond the minimum and achieved exemplary energy-efficiency standards; and find the best one-off home that has been self-built in a contemporary style.

The people of the projects that triumphed in the self-build awards can now hire Robinsons removals UK services and move into their fabulous new homes.

Many of the builders transformed ugly derelict houses into sleek contemporary homes to sell on. One man from Norfolk earned the “Value for Money” accolade because he spent £150,000 building a four-bedroom house which now has a market value of £400,000.

So if you fancy buying one of the renovated buildings, contact Robinsons International to move all your belongings into the home.