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Dropping £45,000 piano 'was the worst thing that's ever happened to me'
Last updated at 08:52am on 12.04.07A removal man who let a £45,000 concert piano slip off the back of his lorry and plunge down a bank described the monumental gaffe as "the worst thing that's ever happened to me".
Brian Haigh made a humiliating public apology to the instrument's owner and told how the experience left him lost for words.
The blunder was captured on camera as the piano fell 13 feet, leaving the red-faced removal men clutching their heads.
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Delivery men look on in horror as the Bosendorfer, the Rolls Royce of Pianos, comes to rest amid tufts of grass and daffodills
The 9ft Bosendorfer was supposed to be delivered - in one piece - to the Two Moors Festival in Devon.
"I couldn't speak for five minutes," said Brian, who is employed by G & R Removals in Chiswick, west London.
"I was really disappointed. I haven't got words for it. I've been doing this job a long, long time. It's the worst thing that's ever happened to me.
"I was just gutted, absolutely gobsmacked. I couldn't believe it had gone over. I couldn't talk for five minutes."
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A fine mess: Piano man Brian Haigh, seen above with his hands on his head
Penny Adie, 54, the festival's organiser said: "We had been raising money for over two years to get this piano, it was the most ghastly moment, seeing all one's hopes and dreams being smashed down the stone steps."
Mr Haigh, from west London told how the accident happened.
"I was trying to put the piano on to the tail lift, going through the normal process for pianos, the next thing I know it's in the ditch," he said.
He said the usual way to remove a piano is to put it in a transport shoe - a frame that fits round the piano's body.
He said: "As we lowered the tail lift, it must have just clipped what we call the shoey and sent it over to one side. I don't understand why it happened.
"I've had better days but nobody was hurt and I do like to look on the bright side. If someone had been hurt I'd be absolutely gutted.
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So far, so good: the moment before the grand piano was irreparably wrecked
"At the end of the day it's an occupational hazard."
The Devon festival was an attempt to boost local business after the foot and mouth outbreak in 2001 damaged tourism.
It was originally meant to be a one-off, but later became an annual event.
A company spokesman for G & R played down the amount of damage sustained to the Bosendorfer.
The spokesman said: "The company has been in business for 40 years. We move 300 pianos a year and it was the most unfortunate accident. The piano is still playable, and can be fixed. It is totally repairable, and had a small amount of damage."
Delivery men try to salvage the wreckage
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Reader views (11)
What's there to comment on. Accidents happen, and I'm sure people will learn from this. It's not an easy thing to carrie a piano. Ok, moving on.
- Joanna, Wilmington U.S.A
It reminds me of the time a Steinway grand rolled off the stage, in Worcester, MA. It makes a sound like rolling thunder! Did anyone mention what sound this one made, as it died?
- Bob Schneider, Falmouth, MA USA
What a shame - let's hope that the piano can be repaired as good as new. Please don't blame the removal men though - this was just an accident and could have happened to anyone.
- Gordon, Scotland
Can you imagine the beautiful sound it would have made?
(shades of the yacht scene in The Thomas Crown Affair, where he wrecks the boat 'to see how big the splash would be')
- The Thug, Woopwoop, Australia
Hmmmm let me see 3/4's of a ton of piano divided by 3 guys equals 1/4 ton each. I wonder why they dropped it?
- Andrew Skinner, San Jose USA
I have had grand pianos delivered before and it always amazes me how primitive the carting methods are. Those guys had it coming - the truck was not parked on a level surface so the piano would start rolling on the tail gate straight away, they were using a small dolly meant for indoors to go along a rocky path! And they they tried to pick it up with a backhoe! The piano was only protected by a padded cover! It should have been crated and delivered onto its exact site required using a truck and crane, and then de-crated.
- Andrew, Gold Coast, Queensland Australia
In my 55 years of pianos I've seen all sort of pianos: pushed off stages, pushed into orchestra pits, dropped on the top, roll out of trucks, roll end over end down a hill, struck by lightening, flood, and more. These fellows are lucky no one got hurt.
- Dennis Mayhew Sr, Powell (Knoxville), TN USA
"Right said fred" (this comment is only for the over 50's)
- Colin, Cebu, Philippines
Those guys dropped a big clanger!
- Brian, Swindon
I feel for those removal guys, I really do.
- Isabel, Woking, England
Puts me in mind of the old PG Tips advert... you hum it, son, I'll play it!
- Paul, London
