Video: Hundreds of tractors going in giant sale after collapse of Shropshire plant hire firm Hawk
Dozens of tractors, excavators, dump trucks and pieces of farm machinery are being sold off today and tomorrow after a plant hire firm collapsed.
An auction was beginning today at the main Hawk Plant site, at Prees Green near Whitchurch, where hundreds of the company's assets have been stored since it went into administration with debts of more than £50 million in January.
The first day of the auction will deal with the sale of tractors, telehandlers and light plant assets, while the second day will be devoted to heavy plant machinery.
Drone footage of the Hawk site courtesy of Rod MacBean / Blueskies UAV:
The assets are between around one to three years old, and are mostly leased equipment with complete maintenance and service history.
These overhead images showing the scale of the company's former portfolio were captured by Rod MacBean, a former dairy farmer who struck out to start an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) company when the increasing challenges of the farming industry became too much.
Mr MacBean, of Wem, said: "I have retired from dairy farming, I didn't see the future being brilliant for small family dairy farms.
"I thought 'I'm too old to weather the storm, it's gone on too long'.
"Since then I have been trying to be a fully-licensed UAV pilot. I have had a massive learning curve.
"It isn't just a hobby, it isn't easy to get a licence and they're not easy things to fly either.
"I'm hoping to make it into a career."
Mr MacBean is hopeful that his new company, Blueskies UAV, can work with farmers and estate agents, and others, to help them cope with challenges in the digital age.
He said: "Our services include agriculture, real estate, construction, insurance , assurance and inspection."
