Tractor trouble captured

Not every farming disaster can be blamed on the weather, or the Government, or airborne midges. Indeed, some are completely and utterly the fault of the farmer - as these amazing pictures above show.

Sent in from all over the world, they show an array of on-farm foul-ups; from rolling the prized tractor and sinking the combine to accidentally demolishing the barn.

Compiled by industry bible Farmers Weekly, the Wreckers Yard feature on its website has become home to a catalogue of carnage and is now one of its most popular sections.

Given the volume of farmers sending in their entries it proves that despite the floods, foot and mouth, bluetongue and avian flu, Britain's agriculture industry is ready and willing to enjoy a laugh at its own expense.

David Cousins, for Farmers Weekly, said pictures have been sent in from as far afield as Australia and New Zealand.

The magazine revealed its Wrecker of the Year on December 28.

He explained: "The Wreckers Yard spot on our website is one of the most popular on the site, with more than 30,000 page views a week. It gives a bit of light relief from the many intractable issues that face farmers at the moment.

"This year saw readers e-mail in dozens of photographs of sad-looking items of farm machinery that had been crashed, overturned, bogged down, driven into a ditch or otherwise left in a rather sorrier state then when they came out of the factory.

"It was good to see, too, that British farmers and contractors don't have a monopoly on agricultural mishaps. In fact some of the most extreme pictures came from Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the US.

"Some might think printing such pictures encourages unsafe practices, but we think the opposite is true. Seeing an overturned tractor or a trailer in a ditch is a strong visual reminder of how dangerous farm machinery can be if it's not operated carefully.

"Also, none of the pictures involved anything more than minor injuries, though plenty of bank balances were damaged and egos bruised. Please don't try any of this at home, as they say."

Reckon you have better Wreckers Yard pictures than these? E-mail nrous@shropshirestar.co.uk

Tanker turnover: A budding Lewis Hamilton rounded a corner in the village of Throckmorton, Worcestershire, in a bit of a hurry and this was the result. In his haste, the driver cut the corner and the John Deere 6920 and tanker rode up onto the verge at "a reasonable lick". But the bowser couldn't handle the pace and opted for a swift lie-down.

Blasted bales: After pulling away at the traffic lights and turning slowly up a hill, this trailer-load of 40 bales lifted at the back end and toppled over. After letting off the straps and another tractor righting the trailer, it was re-loaded and made it back to the barn. The police had to shut the road off for half-an-hour while the trailer was re-loaded.

Tractor trauma: This sad-looking Fiat 680 was sent to the Welsh hills for a quiet retirement but found itself sliding downhill at some speed and heading straight for a road. Luckily it stopped short and the driver only suffered minor bruising and a cut finger. He was apparently more upset that he had just dumped 600kg of fertiliser in a big heap in the field than by the speedy descent he experienced.

Flattened Fiat: The driver of this Fiat F130 was carting grass silage when the weight block on the front chassis sheared off, causing the tractor to run over the empty cage attached to it. The next thing she remembers is being out on the grass looking for her mobile to say she'd had a little accident. She was back carting the next day with another tractor and a slightly bruised body, but she's still not lived down the fact the incident involved a woman driver. Reckon you have better Wreckers Yard pictures than these? E-mail nrous@shropshirestar.co.uk