Watch stranded digger driver get scooped to safety after getting …
A digger driver was called into unconventional action when one of their colleagues got their excavator stuck in soft sand on a beach in the West Country[1]. With the tide coming in, the quick-thinking driver manoeuvred their scoop over to the stranded excavator for their fellow driver to hop into. Video by Django Shelton caught the unusual rescue and showed the grateful driver gently deposited safely onto Bournemouth beach.
The giant diggers had been working to protect the beach from erosion and to replace groynes, structures used to protect the shoreline. The incident started on Wednesday morning (November 29) when the two machines arrived at the beach to start work. It ended with one of the diggers on its side and the only chance to recover it being at low tide, reports DorsetLive[2].
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council’s environment councillor Andy Hadley shared an image on X of the half-submerged digger lying on its side after the driver was scooped to safety. He said: “Oops, groyne replacement on Bournemouth Beach. Digger in the sea.
Driver is OK, and he isolated the bio-degradable fuel supply. Beware the soft sand. Digger to be recovered at low tide tonight.”
BCP Council confirmed the digger hit soft sand and became stuck and was submerged by the rising tide. The driver was unhurt and had managed to isolate the fuel supply, but crews will aim to recover the stricken machinery at low tide.
A driver had to be rescued as his large digger became stuck in the sea at Bournemouth beach. (Image: Django Shelton/@DjangoFS)
A spokesperson from BCP Council said: “This morning (November 29), during our normal activities to renew the timber groynes at East Cliff, one of the excavators hit soft sand and became stuck, becoming swamped by the rising tide. “A rescue plan is underway and our contractors hope to retrieve the excavator at low tide today.
We are pleased to report that the driver is uninjured and had the foresight to switch off the bio-degradable fuel supply, sealing the tank.
“Sand becomes very unstable when it is excavated around groynes and this is why we ask people not enter or pass the construction zone along the water’s edge, even at low tide.”
The large digger stuck and submerged in the sea at Bournemouth beach. (Image: Andy Hadley)
The groyne replacement is part of a 17-year beach management scheme, which started in 2015, to help protect the coastline from flooding and erosion.
The groynes are being replaced using tropical hardwood and recycled planking, with work expected to be completed by the end of March 2024.
References
- ^ West Country (www.bristolpost.co.uk)
- ^ reports DorsetLive (www.dorset.live)
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