| By Amy Remeikis

What do you do when you have a 26-tonne concrete-pumping truck just centimetres away from toppling on to a community?

You call Clayton’s Towing.

The Nambour-based company was called to recover the $500,000 truck from a coastal peak in Airlie Beach, after it slipped sideways during a job and came close to rolling over a 100-metre cliff on to homes below.

Local towing companies shied away from the recovery job because of the high chance the truck would tumble.

After a week, and with fears of coming rain that would destabilise the land the truck was resting on, the vehicle’s insurance firm contacted Clayton’s Towing.

Owner Mike Clayton said once his team was given the information, they were certain they had the necessary specialist equipment and knowledge to safely bring the truck back to level ground.

A team of three Clayton employees made the 14-hour trip to Airlie Beach with the company’s specialist Mega Tow truck and a low loader, which carried an excavator with a specialist winching attachment.

Using the excavator and the winch attachment, they were able to secure the stricken vehicle and eventually reached a point where the Mega Tow could pull the truck to safety. The $25,000 operation took close to eight hours and Mr Clayton said the situation was challenging.

“A lot of people doubted it could be done, so to go there and do it with no dramas and no problems, was great,” he said.