Lorry lifted free after getting stuck in lane

A red crane lifting a trailer that is wedged between a home and a wall. There are houses in the foreground and trees in the background.
A red crane lifting a trailer that is wedged between a home and a wall. There are houses in the foreground and trees in the background.

The eight-tonne trailer is lifted free from Forder, near Saltash
The power was cut in the village for the removal operation

A lorry trailer has been lifted free after getting stuck in a single-track lane in a Cornish village.

The complete lorry got stuck in a single-track lane at Forder, near Saltash in Cornwall, on Monday after taking a wrong turn.

It was carrying 40 tonnes of seed, which has been removed.

The lorry cab was driven away and a crane was brought in to lift the eight-tonne lorry trailer while road diversions were in place.

An aerial view of a blue, red and white lorry right up against a  
two-storey house made of stone. The surrounding area includes greenery, some scattered objects, and another small building with a black covering.
The lorry has been stuck fast since Monday after taking a wrong turn

About 30 homes in the village had their power switched off as the operation started.

Dougie Smith, of MacSalvors Plant Hire, was the driver tasked with the lift on Wednesday morning.

He said: "Once it's up and in a horizontal position, it's straight up and a straight lift."

Villager Marion Beale watched the operation.

She said: "It's so close to the house that when they lift it up they've got to be incredibly skilled to get it from bashing into the house.

"There's only about a foot between and the house [which] is probably not absolutely perpendicular, being old."

The operation was similar to another in November 2007 when another lorry got stuck in the same spot.

Resident Derek Pilgrim, who was there at that time, said the electric was switched off then too because overhead lines were in the area.

"They did a wonderful job, but the lorry was smaller than this one," he said.

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