Tractor driver James Fletcher who works for Chester-based contractor Mike Harley, had a lucky escape when the field he was ploughing gave way underneath him. Here are the pictures. To see them in their largest size keep double-clicking on them
12 total photos Last updated on Fri, Mar 7 2008
Tractor Driver James Fletcher who works for Chester-based contractor Mike Harley, had a lucky esacpe when the field he was ploughing gave way beneath him. He was on the final run of a sloping field near Alvaney, 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 plough was carried a quarter of a mile, through 360 degrees, crossing two fields and ended up being half buried in soil. Amazingly, the tractor started again once dug out, but had to be taken away on a low-loader.
One word: wow
not sure land slides that rare to be honest, though to be caught up in the middle of one probably is! Has happened several times where slopes become waterlogged and soil structure just gives way to the mass of the water and soil. occasional problem in west Scotland due to higher rainfall and more slopes, main road from loch lomond to campbeltown has be shut more than once to clear up the resulting mess!
Ayreshirebull,
Just to clarify, the occurrence of a landslide in the UK is not at all unusual - there are >14,000 documented landslides, and this is probably just the tip of the iceberg. The unusual things here are:
1. The distance that the landslide moved over ground that is not particularly steep. This is quite common in other parts of the world, but is not the norm in the UK.
2. The fact that the landslide occurred on a day when there was only a little rainfall. Again, this is not unprecedented, but is quite unusual and intriguing.
A different perspective is to say that worldwide about 10,000 people are killed each year in landslides. This one iscomparatively minor in comparison, but it is interesting nonetheless.
Best wishes,
Dave Petley
Durham University