Bill Steps In (Twice!)

Bill Steps In (Twice!)

January 19, 2023
On a wet and miserable day last week, Willington Quarry Manager, Bill Newton (image), had a busy day helping out two members of the public who had found themselves in need of assistance – both incidents were outside the quarry boundary so they could have been left for others to resolve, however, Bill and his team Stepped In and took action, not only to make the situations safe but also to provide comfort and refreshment to the people involved.

At 9am on the day, Bill received a report of a stranded vehicle at his top gates. Taking his pick-up truck, Bill went to investigate – the road into the quarry was flooded at the time and only passable in a 4x4 or HGV. On the far side of the traffic lights Bill found a Mini with a driver who had driven into the flood water whereupon their engine had failed.

Fortunately for the Mini driver, some maintenance workers were doing repair work nearby on a railway culvert. They pulled the car out of the water onto our road. Bill put in place some hazard warnings around the car as trucks were still active on the road. By then the driver was very cold and Bill took them back into the office for a hot drink while they awaited their recovery.

Driving back to his main gates Bill found another driver in a car who had been involved in an accident on the A38 and was waiting for assistance. Bill and his team moved this car into a safe place, gave the driver their contact number and asked them to call once recovery was on site so we could help manage the recovery.

Back at the office, Bill was able to communicate with the first driver’s people using the main gate’s What 3 Words location, to prevent the recovery truck driving into the flood water. Both cars were eventually recovered, and the team received two phone calls later that afternoon to thank us for our help.

Well done to Bill and his team for Stepping In, making the situations safe and providing comfort and assistance.