A RECOVERY operation that has taken three days to drag a large mobile crane from a ditch on a Thurrock rural road was close to completion this evening, after three other cranes wer4e brought in to shift it.

The crane, belonging to Ainscough Crane Hire became stuck after it slid off the narrow Blackbush Lane just outside Horndon on The Hill.

Efforts to drag the crane out of the ditch over the previous two days have failed and involved input from Thurrock Council, who provided signage to inform drivers that the road was blocked and to signpost a diversion.

Another large lorry was used in an initial attempt to free the crane but that failed.

Permission was then obtained to access the crane from an adjacent farmer's field and matting was placed around the stuck crane. Again the efforts failed.

This evening's efforts saw large vehicles, including another crane, drag the stuck crane from two directions and, after several attempts, it was pulled back onto the narrow road.

Residents locally report that the lane, which already had a poor road surface, has been further damaged in recent months by large vehicles using the lane to access works related to the A13 widening project.