Site clearance
Grab lorry hire.
Soil and rubble.
A grab lorry has a hydraulic arm that loads muck straight off the ground into its own body, reaching over a wall or fence from the road. Nothing is delivered and nothing is left behind: it arrives, loads, and leaves with the waste in one visit.
- Ideal for soil, rubble and hardcore
- Quick mechanical loading
- Perfect for construction and demolition
Is this the right thing to order?
Sometimes it isn’t.
We would rather tell you now than send a lorry that cannot do the job.
A grab is right for
- A heap already on the ground — muck, spoil, a broken-up drive
- Nowhere to put a container, or no permit possible
- Loose heavy material in bulk, gone in one visit
What goes in
What a grab takes.
Loose heavy material in bulk. A few items never go in.
Never goes in
8 itemsDisposing of these is a separate service — contact us.
- Asbestos
- Explosives, flares and ammunition
- Clinical or medical waste
- Animal or human waste
- Loose or leaking liquids, solvents and chemicals
- Fuels and oils
- Treated railway sleepers and lead-painted timber
- Household and lithium batteries
Not sure about an item? Tell us what you have.
Access & siting
Can the arm reach it?
Nothing is delivered — the lorry parks on the road and the arm does the reaching. Check four things.
- About 10 m of road, 3.5 m wideThe lorry stands at the kerb while it loads; its legs spread about 4 m when the arm works.
- The heap within about 6 mAbout 5.5 m on a 4-wheeler. The arm reaches over a wall, fence or hedge — not round corners or over buildings.
- At least 6 m clear overheadThe arm swings up and over — no working under or near power lines. Cables or branches over the heap? Tell us before you book.
- A heap, ready to goBring the waste out first — the arm loads a pile of loose material, not bags.
Typical figures for UK vehicles, not a specification — lorries vary.
How it works
One visit. Nothing left behind.
A tipper lorry with a hydraulic arm and a bucket: it loads the heap straight off the ground into its own body.
1. Book the lorry
Choose it by the size of the heap — bigger axle count, bigger load.
2. The arm loads it
From the road, reaching over a wall or fence — no container on your ground.
3. Gone in one visit
No hire period and nothing to collect later: the waste leaves with the lorry.
How it’s priced
One visit, one price.
Per load, by wheelbase
You are buying one lorry visit, so the price is per load and the size that matters is the lorry.
No hire period
Nothing stands on your ground: the lorry loads in one visit and there is nothing to collect later.
No permit needed
Nothing is placed on the highway — the lorry stands on the road as a parked vehicle while it loads — so there is no permit to pay for.
Questions
Grab hire, answered.
How far can a grab lorry reach?
Around six metres from the side of the lorry for a typical UK grab, and further on some 8-wheelers. That is usually enough to clear a front garden from the road, or to reach over a boundary wall or fence into a yard. What it cannot do is reach round a corner or over a building — if the driver cannot see the heap from the cab side, the arm cannot load it.
Do I need a permit for a grab lorry?
No. A permit is for something placed on the public highway, and a grab leaves nothing behind — the lorry is a parked vehicle while it loads. That makes it a straightforward way to clear muck from a street where a skip permit would be difficult or expensive to get.
What can a grab lorry take?
Loose, gradeable material: soil and subsoil, hardcore and rubble, broken concrete, and green waste. What it cannot take is bagged or mixed household rubbish, because the arm loads by the bucketful and cannot sort. If your heap is bags rather than muck, a skip is the right answer and we will say so.
How long does it take?
Usually around twenty minutes on site for a straightforward load, and the lorry leaves with the waste. There is no delivery visit and no collection visit — which is why a grab often beats a skip on a job that would otherwise need a container standing around for a fortnight.
Got a heap to shift?
Tell us the postcode and what the heap is, and we will arrange the right lorry — on WhatsApp or by phone.