Guernsey sewage project: Digger recovered from undersea trench

The contractor said the work due to be carried out this week would not be delayed

A digger that fell into an undersea trench has been successfully recovered.

The excavator was working on a project to lay Guernsey's new sewage outfalls when it overturned on Monday morning.

The driver escaped unharmed but the digger, which is in needs of repairs, was stranded due to the rising tide.

It was finally recovered at 18:20 BST on Tuesday meaning the laying of the short outfall pipe can go ahead as planned on Thursday or Friday.

The cause of the incident is not yet known.

The digger was submerged under three high tides while stuck in the trench

Diggers have operated onshore and offshore to dig the trenches for the two pipes

Jan Zwart, project manger for contractor Van Oord, said the excavator was "not a complete write off" and it was hoping to repair it.

Having been submerged under three high tides, the engine and electrical systems of the vehicle, understood to be worth about £250,000, are likely to need to be replaced.

Mark Walker, from Guernsey Water, said the cost of the repairs to the digger would not be passed on to customers.

The £19.9m project involves the replacement of both the long sea outfall - the main disposal route for the island's wastewater - and the short sea outfall, which is used if the long sea outfall is at full capacity and the storm tanks are full.