When winter storms from the North Sea drive tons of sand onto the promenade at Southaven Beach, VPH Plant Hire turns to the Liebherr PR 726 Generation 8. The fuel-efficient dozer pushes back the sand masses and makes the almost two-mile-long beach accessible again in time for the summer season – a challenging task that must be completed within a short window.

Southaven Beach in South Shields is a prime example. Storms bringing high tides and strong winds alter the landscape, relentlessly pushing sand up the beach and onto the promenade. Near the mouth of the River Tyne, the beach is almost two miles long and a fair-weather destination for dog walkers, families and fitness enthusiasts. When winter comes, it's battered by storms, drifting sand is pushed ashore and accumulates against the dunes. Every year it must be pushed back. And that's when Gary Lawless arrives.

VPH runs a fleet of equipment including excavators up to 50t paired with 30t articulated dump trucks, dozers, ancillary equipment and a fleet of specialist attachments. To reprofile the beach this year, Lawless deployed several excavators, two articulated dumpers and a pair of dozers. While the diggers and dumpers concentrated on shifting the sand away from the fenced-off public pathways and moving it down the beach, dozer operator Kevin Stewart was given the job of gradually pushing out the remaining material. And to get the job done he was in the seat of a brand-new Liebherr dozer, the company's latest acquisition.