'elf and safety - Gone Mad

Last week I suffered a catastrophic failure to the awning attached to my motorhome whilst at a Club site, making the motorhome undriveable. I had to find a way to secure it so that I could drive home so went to Reception to borrow a ladder.  'Sorry can't do that - Health and Safety - you might hurt yourself'.  I said I'd sign a disclaimer, anything you like, but to no avail. How to make a stressful situation worse!

Fortunately a fellow camper found a guy that had a 3 tread step ladder with a support bar. The only way was to stand precariously on top of the bar, in the wind, to sort out a means of tying the awning up. This was far more dangerous than it would have been with a proper step ladder but I had no choice.

By definition this is the Caravan Club, the word Club giving a feeling of people being friendly and helpful. It seems that, as usual members will help -  but officials can't. Their hands are tied. Surely we can come up with a disclaimer form so that when we get into difficulties, and we all do at times, wardens can at least loan equipment without fear of litigation.

In Perth (Aus) the council puts up signs which say 'Safety is our concern but your responsibility'. I wish we could all live like that.