A young Brit was left stranded overnight at a desolate petrol station in Hungary - after her coach took off without her.<br /><br />Kirsty Hillier, 22, got stuck in the western town of Balatonlelle during a FlixBus journey.<br /><br />The driver for her Budapest to Zagreb trip had stopped at a petrol station, so she went to get a hotdog.<br /><br />But when she returned there was no sign of the bus - or her luggage.<br /><br />Kind locals came to her aid and she managed to book another journey - and locate her suitcase.<br /><br />Kirsty, from Birmingham, said: "One minute I was at the service station and everything was fine.<br /><br />"Then I walked round the corner and the bus, with all my luggage on it, had gone. <br /><br />"From that point on, I relied solely on the empathy and kindness of strangers to help me.<br /><br />"My experience has really restored my faith in humanity."<br /><br />Kirsty set off to travel Europe by herself on August 11 last year.<br /><br />Two weeks before the end of her trip, on December 27, she booked a Flix Bus from Budapest, Hungary, to Zagreb, in neighbouring Croatia.<br /><br />But what was meant to be a simple four-hour drive turned into a nightmare.<br /><br />Kirsty claims the driver said he'd be leaving the petrol station in Balatonlelle in 15 minutes, so she got off, went to the toilet and bought herself some snacks.<br /><br />But when she returned 10 minutes later the bus had gone - with all her luggage on.<br /><br />Kirsty said: "I came out the shop and couldn't see the bus, and my heart just sank.<br /><br />"I was trying to speak to people and explain what had happened, no one spoke English.<br /><br />"It was freezing and I left my coat and trainers on the bus, so was only wearing sliders.<br /><br />"Thankfully I had my iPad on me and I was able to charge it in the shop, but the Wi-fi was barely working.<br /><br />"I was sat waiting all night, not knowing what to do with myself, and I was starting to really panic.<br /><br />"During the night two coaches passed which I tried to get on - one was going to Slovenia which was no good, and the other going back to Budapest was full."<br /><br />Kirsty slept in the station and finally got the help she needed at 7am the next morning.<br /><br />A woman who finished her night shift at the petrol station offered to take Kirsty to Ballontelle train station.<br /><br />From there she travelled back to Budapest, where she reluctantly booked another FlixBus to Zagreb.<br /><br />She was then tasked with locating her luggage which had travelled to the Croatian capital without her the previous day.<br /><br />Fearing she'd never see her bags again, Kirsty posted on a Facebook group for Zagreb locals appealing for help.<br /><br />And, to her delight, Antonija, a complete stranger, saw her plea, and retrieved her luggage from the bus moments before it returned to Budapest.<br /><br />Kirsty says Flix Bus have apologised about the situation but have failed to offer her any compensation for the driver's careless error.
