Blimey Paul, did you work for Shand’s as well? 
Practically every person I know in this area worked for them at Rowsley, I will be with a few of them this weekend and they always have plenty of stories to tell about all the mishaps!
Back in the 60’s our Club secretary and two other lads had to travel up to Durham to collect three of Shand’s scrapers to go down and work on the St Albans by-pass (later the M10 of course). None had driven scrapers before and when they encounterd the first roundabout on the A1 they drove straight across it taking the flowerbeds with them! Then they had to go through Stamford with a Police ■■■■■■ and found an old Austin Ten double parked. The copper found the driver in a shop and told him to move it but he just said he would move it when he finished shopping so the copper just said “drive on lads” and three scrapers ran over the top of the Austin!! They never heard anymore about it though. 
Same driver drove their low loader, he loaded a newly refurbished RB up to take to Congleton and swung out of the yard and hit the low rail bridge at Rowsley snapping the new jib clean off. He just reversed back into the yard and the fitters started rebuilding it again!
Pete.