Tractor driver James Fletcher, who works for
Chester-based contractor Mike Harley, had a lucky escape on 29 Feb
when the field he was ploughing gave way underneath
him.
He was on the final run of a sloping field near Alvanley near
Widnes, when the bank he was on collapsed, sending an estimated
15,000 tonnes of soil sliding down the slope.
Mr Fletcher’s tractor and six-furrow plough was carried a
quarter of a mile, turning through 360˚, crossing two fields and
ending up half buried by soil. The process apparently took about
thirty seconds.
“He described it as being like a tsunami of soil,” said Mike
Harley. “We think it may have been the earthquake last week that
shifted the soil, then the tractor vibration set it off.”
Not surprisingly, the tractor stalled during its out-of-control
journey, but Mr Harley reckons it wouldn’t have made any difference
even if the wheels had been driving. Amazingly, the Deere started
again but had to be taken away on a low-loader. Mr Fletcher was
shaken and shocked but otherwise unhurt.
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