VANDALS drove a �7,000 digger into the River Thurne at Ludham, near Yarmouth, leaving two business partners facing a massive bill.Gino Gallant and Glen Hudson, whose firm G and H Services has been restoring a derelict bungalow, Toad Hall, at the end of Womack Staithe, are faced with the cost of recovering and repairing the hired digger.

VANDALS drove a �7,000 digger into the River Thurne at Ludham, near Yarmouth, leaving two business partners facing a massive bill.

Gino Gallant and Glen Hudson, whose firm G and H Services has been restoring a derelict bungalow, Toad Hall, at the end of Womack Staithe, are faced with the cost of recovering and repairing the hired digger.

Mr Gallant, 32, of nearby Repps with Bastwick, said: “To be covered by insurance it would have had to be kept in a compound, but that would not be possible on the river bank. We are having to pay the Broads Authority �1,400 to crane it out, and then it will have to go to a workshop to be stripped down.”

They have been restoring the holiday home for about six months and have previously had tools taken from the site, prompting Mr Gallant to suspect possible sabotage by business rivals.

Mr Gallant said: “It happened some time between Saturday and Tuesday morning. They moved the digger right round the plot, from the back, and tipped it over the quay heading into the river.”

Any witnesses, who might have seen possible suspects approaching the staithe along Horse Fen Road, are asked to call PC John Hopes at Acle police station on 0845-4564567.