Early hours operation to remove stranded 4x4 from Cleethorpes beach

• Contractors were brought in to remove the car. Video courtesy of North East Lincolnshire Council

An early hours operation took place to recover a car left stranded on a beach for six days after the owner failed to remove it.

The 4x4 got stuck in the sand at Cleethorpes on Saturday, 20 July, after the driver attempted to retrieve two jet skis.

North East Lincolnshire Council organised a salvage operation at 3.30am on Friday, with specialists contractors brought in to carry out the removal.

Cllr Hayden Dawkins said: “Our hope earlier this week was that the vehicle owner would take responsibility for this and arrange for their vehicle to be removed, that is what we all wanted.

"However this weekend, with good weather forecast, will be one of the busiest in Cleethorpes and the last thing any of us wanted was for visitors, many of them families, to come to the beach and look out to see an abandoned vehicle stuck on the shore."

The council’s head of environment, Chris Dunn, said the operation was arranged at low tide "at a time of the day when there were no visitors on the beach or in the resort, which was vital for safety reasons".

He added: "All the necessary health and safety measures were followed, and we are pleased to have ensured the vehicle is now gone ahead of the weekend.”

The council said it would pursue the owner for the recovery costs.

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