VIDEO: How many reporters does it take to change a wheel?

With talks from mechanics, body language experts and self-defence guru Grant Hicks, it was a useful evening for anyone who has ever felt frightened walking home late at night, been intimidated by other drivers or found themselves stuck on the road with a punctured tyre.

Hartwell Dunstable general manager Graham Betts said: “The event is to help women be aware of the maintenance requirements of their vehicle, how to change wheels, where the screen wash and anti-freeze go and so on. It’s about looking after women and showing we’re nice people and this isn’t an intimidating place to come.”

Learning how to change a tyre was my favourite part of the event at the High Street South site, and I was very proud of myself for successfully managing it in the workshop.

So proud that when I set off with three friends on a 200-mile journey the next day, I boasted that if we got a puncture, at least I’d know what to do.

That was tempting fate as two hours into the journey we hit a big rock in the middle of the motorway, which caused a massive gash in the front tyre and meant our car and six others who also hit it had to pull over onto the hard shoulder.

Despite my confidence, being on the side of the M6 in the dark was not the best opportunity to try out my new skills and neither myself nor the three men I was with were able to get the hubcap off, so I begrudgingly called the RAC to the rescue.

I’m still sure that in kinder conditions and with a looser hubcap I’d be able to change the tyre myself, and the Hartwell evening taught me plenty of other useful things. I’ll just have to be careful not to show off about them too much and jinx another journey...

> Watch Natalee Hazelwood’s video of the Women In Gear event at www.dunstabletoday.co.uk.