UPDATE: Digger still stuck in Brooklands Lake

The digger which got stuck in mud this afternoon in Brooklands Lake still appears to be stranded.
The digger at Brooklands Lake in Worthing, taken at around 4pm this afternoon. Picture: Eddie MitchellThe digger at Brooklands Lake in Worthing, taken at around 4pm this afternoon. Picture: Eddie Mitchell
The digger at Brooklands Lake in Worthing, taken at around 4pm this afternoon. Picture: Eddie Mitchell

At around 10am this morning, a video captured the moment when hydraulics in the digger’s arm snapped while it appeared to be pushing itself out of the mud. Click here to see it.

Worthing Borough Council denied it was sinking in the mud, describing it as a ‘minor hiccup’ in plans to restore the lake at the heart of Brooklands Park in Brighton Road and said it was ‘not uncommon’ for this to happen.

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At around 4pm this afternoon, it appeared the digger was still stuck in the mud, with spill kits having been used to clear up the spillage of biodegradable oil.

The digger at Brooklands Lake in Worthing, taken at around 4pm this afternoon. Picture: Eddie MitchellThe digger at Brooklands Lake in Worthing, taken at around 4pm this afternoon. Picture: Eddie Mitchell
The digger at Brooklands Lake in Worthing, taken at around 4pm this afternoon. Picture: Eddie Mitchell

The council said contractors had surrounded the excavator with an earth bund, a ridge of compacted earth, to contain it while they wait for mechanics to arrive on site.

The diggers belongs to Five Rivers Environmental, which was contracted to carry out the environmental work by the council last summer. No-one at the company was available to comment.

This is the second digger-related mishap in the area in the last 12 months. Last year, a digger involved in the Rampion Wind Farm project became stuck in the sea opposite Brooklands Lake, getting the nickname Moby Dig by readers.