I drive a Citroën DS3. It's not the coolest car, or the quickest, or the most luxurious, but it's been the most reliable car I've owned in 36 years behind the wheel, giving me 100,000 miles of hassle-free motoring – until I was told to stop driving it immediately or risk a fine of thousands of pounds... or even death by exploding airbag.

This week, 80,000 Citroën drivers received a letter from Stellantis UK, the company that owns the marque. In red capitals, it said: "Urgent Safety Recall – Takata Airbag - Stop Driving Alert.

"Citroën asks you to STOP DRIVING YOUR VEHICLE IMMEDIATELY."

To drive the point home there was a stylised image in a red triangle of a driver being hit in the face with flames bursting from the steering wheel.

The problem lies with the Takata airbags which, apparently, have been at the centre of a global recall.

In its letter, Citroën said I might have heard about it from the media. I hadn't, and I hope this article goes some way to alerting other........

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