British family-of-12 are rescued by Italian police after following sat nav into fast-flowing river on holiday

A British family of twelve famous for not claiming benefits have been rescued by Italian police after their sat nav mistakingly led to them to a dangerous fast flowing river.

Michael and Tania Sullivan, who were on holiday with ten of their children, were using the GPS navigator in their minibus to take them to their holiday accommodation but it sent them the wrong way and they ended up down a muddy dirt track facing the raging torrent.

Quick thinking Michael used his mobile phone to alert police who were able to pin point his exact location using the sophisticated trace system which tracks a callers exact spot by satellite - although it still took more than three hours to reach them because the spot was so isolated.

Lucky escape: The couple are pictured on their holiday (Tania in the front in a white top, with Michael at the back in a blue polo shirt) alongside their children and the team that rescued them

The drama for the family from Hoo, Kent, began as they drove their LDV Convoy 12 seater minibus, with children aged from two to 16 years old, to a bed and breakfast in mountains at Villa Minozzo near Reggio Emilia in Italy's central Appenines.

Following the directions of the sat nav Michael took their van down an un-tarmaced which after several miles eventually brought them to the edge of a swollen river - no where near where they were supposed to be.

With darkness descending and the children beginning to get cold and hungry Michael, 40, tried to reverse the family's minibus back up the road but the tyres sank deeper into the mud until they were eventually stuck fast.

 

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Today/yesterday speaking from the bed and breakfast where they are staying self employed joiner Michael said:"Looking back at it now it was quite funny but at the time it was quite scary as we didn't know how we were going to get out of there. 

'We had just done ten miles of winding mountain roads which we were glad to see the back off when the sat nav told us to turn back on ourselves which I thought was odd but I did as it said and we ended up going down quite a steep track. 

Expanding brood: Michael and Tania Sullivan are pictured with 11 of their children, but the couple have now had another

'It was all cut up and littered with rocks - it certainly wasn't a road - and at the end was this river which was going quite quick and that's when I knew something wasn't quite right and I started to get worried as didn't know how we would get out.'

Tania called the couple's eldest son Ben, 19, who had stayed in Britain and he alerted police via 999 but in the meantime Michael had met two locals out walking and they and called local officers who came to the family's rescue. 

Using two powerful four by fours Tania and the children, the youngest little Isabella aged four months and the oldest Caitlin, 13,went in one while Michael helped guide the stranded mini bus out of the mud and back up the track to safety. 

Big family: Mr and Mrs Sullivan in 2012 holding their twins Anna (right) and Libby

Michael added: 'I'm so glad that couple were passing and managed to help us out. Luckily for us they spoke English and they called the police but it still took three hours before we were back up on the main road. We were taken to the police station and the children were given chocolates and we were put on the the right road.

'I was relieved when we were rescued because I had no idea how we would get out of there and it was the middle of nowhere. I think I'll be getting a new sat nav when we get back to Britain.'

Michael's wife Tania, 38, a former recruitment consultant, gave up work after the birth of the couple's sixth child and home schools the other children with their house being run in a military style.

The couple have won the praise of plaudits for refusing to claim benefits - unlike other families with several children - and bought the minibus so they could ferry the children about and they regularly get through 20 loaves of bread and 50 pints of milk a week.

The couple are currently on an eight week tour of Europe with Tania righting about their exploits on her website Largerfamilylife.com and she hopes to write a book. 

Michael, who confirmed the family were still not claiming benefits, added: 'The trip is a good experience for the children and we are enjoying our time together as a family - this adventure will make a great chapter in Tania's book.'