Trucking Hell

Following the men and women of the heavy recovery business. In Hertfordshire, rookie op Euan is tasked with rescuing a ten-tonne rigid - one wrong move could end his rescue mission.

A toppled tanker with liquid chicken guts needs rescuing, a refrigerated truck stranded on a busy road is leaking water everywhere, and an arctic has smashed into two lampposts.

Alpha Recovery send a crew to a challenging, energy sapping recovery: a fuel tanker has rolled down a steep muddy hill and landed on its side. A huge digger is needed to flip it over.

In Buckinghamshire, recovery op Steve must deal with a mattress stuffed lorry which has hit a low bridge. Rookie Paul tries to extract a wrecked car in rural Derbyshire.

A three tonne passenger ferry is hauled out of the icy waters of a lake so it can be repaired, and there are two cases of massive vehicles stuck in mud.

Recovery op Mark tackles a Vauxhall left dangling over the edge of a canal lock 8n wet weather, and Daniel helps with a recovery operation after a smash on the M25.

A 44-ton gravel lorry careers off the A69, plunging down an embankment, and Gary must pick up the pieces. In Croydon, Stu has a complex recovery: a bin lorry is stuck in deep mud

A 26 tonne tanker gets stuck in a waterlogged verge on the busy A5, fully loaded and leaning to one side. Plus, moving an aging double decker bus that’s been immobile for eight years.

Two coaches which tried passing each other on a narrow snowy lane come to grief, and a bin lorry stuck in mud is in danger of keeling over.

In Northumberland, Alpha Recovery stalwart Kevin's got his hands full winching a tanker out of a muddy ditch on a country road. His load is leaning perilously close to an ancient dry wall.

Gary leads a team from Alpha rescuing a burnt-out low loader and portacabin. Stu battles with a broken-down bus which is blocking a mini roundabout during the afternoon school run. And Joe retrieves a car which has careered off the A6.

While Stu struggles with a broken-down bus blocking a mini roundabout in Watford, Gary leads a complex mission to rescue a burnt-out low loader and cabin in the Scottish Borders.

A 46-tonne artic has veered into a verge on a busy A-road and is going nowhere without some help. And a lorry gets caught in slippery mud.

On the M25 near Enfield two lorries, two cars and a Transit have piled into each other blocking three of four lanes. In a ten-mile tailback the Lantern team must recover the two artics.

On a busy stretch of the M42 outside Birmingham a fully loaded Sprinter Van has limped onto the hard shoulder. The rear differential is broken meaning the van can no longer be driven, luckily Crouch Recovery op Joe has his flatbed truck at the ready. Joe needs to work quickly and carefully because he has busy rush hour traffic thundering past, making this a risky rescue.

The Alpha recovery team face a huge challenge as a double decker bus has rolled onto its side, and in The Midlands, a car transporter has become bogged down in the grounds of a venue.

A tipper truck sinks into deep mud on an isolated farm track, a car has crashed onto an embankment, and a lorry breaks down off a busy roundabout in rush hour.

In Warwickshire, Dave Crouch comes to the rescue a tipper truck gets stuck in deep mud on an isolated farm track. And a 26-ton truck breaks down beside the London eye.

A bin lorry has come off a country lane, it’s wheels slipping in mud, and a box van trailer which has been uncoupled and left with the front supported solely by its landing legs.

When a driver transporting booze decouples at a lorry park, his trailer's landing legs are swallowed by porous tarmac, pushing Jordan and Merrie's recovery skills to the limit.