A mini dumper truck performing maintenance work at Eastville Park lake has been removed from the water following an incident involving a contractor.
Photographs taken by walkers show the vehicle had apparently come off the path running alongside the lake, and was submerged up to its seat and the bottom of its front bucket.
A Bristol City Council spokesperson said the machine was removed from the lake on Wednesday (February 23), following the incident, which took place a day earlier and is being investigated. The spokesperson said the driver was unharmed.
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A passer-by told BristolLive they had seen around 10 workers laying tarmac on the walkway before the incident took place on Tuesday morning.
Peter Bowles, who was walking his dog through the park, said that when he came back past the lake an hour later around 11.30am and midday, he saw the truck in the water with one of the workers standing by it at the water’s edge.
Mr Bowles said when he asked the “grumpy” worker about what happened, they would not speak to him and “hid away, pretending to be on the phone.”
Mr Bowles said he had been “concerned” about the wildlife that use the lake as a habitat, with the spot popular among local birdwatchers and photographers.
The council spokesperson said a spill barrier had been place in the lake "as a precaution." They added: "The vehicle was electric and its bucket was empty at the time of the incident, so we did not anticipate any contamination or pollution to the lake as a result.”
More photographs of the submerged truck appeared on the Friends of Eastville Park community group page on Facebook, with one member writing they had walked past the scene and there was “no sign of chemical spillage.”
Another post expressed concern for the safety of those involved in the incident while another said the vehicle was out of the lake and gone by “late lunchtime” on Wednesday, attaching a photo indicating it had been removed.
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