SHREDDING of Worthing's wood mountains had to stop for six days — because the damp planks clogged up the clearance contractor's machine.
After a couple of previous breakdowns, the hard-working shredding machine finally gave up the ghost on Wednesday, February 27.
And it wasn't until Tuesday, March 4 that a stronger machine arrived on the beach near Heene Road to continue the work of clearing the 2,000 tons of cargo washed up from the sunken Ice Prince.
Cliff Harrison, the borough council's assistant director (property services), told the Herald that the contractors had been having problems because of the moisture content of the timber, which had rendered the shredder unusable.
"They decided to bring in a new piece of plant to deal with the problem," he said.
"We still plan to clear Worthing beach by Easter, with the exception of the storage piles.
"They are going to be there for longer than that."
Local resident Eric Bower, of West Parade, called Herald on Tuesday, to say that he had just seen the new wood shredder arrive.
"We're hoping now that the wood piles are cleared as soon as possible.
"I think the council should have had greater control of this process from the start.
"It should have chartered new plant from somewhere else sooner than this," he said.
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