Steam shovels played a major role in building various things including the Panama Canal which used over 100 steam shovels in its construction. For many years the steam shovel and the other types of shovels that followed them were the most popular way of excavating.

Soon after this these machines were further developed by the invention of hydraulic excavators and by the late 1800s excavators powered by electric motors were brought to market. Various new types of excavator followed including drag line, backhoe, bucket wheel, long reach, skid loader and suction excavators.

Kevin Barr, 21, and Garry Rooney, 18, stole the vehicles from Cruden Building Site in Drumchapel in December 2009.

They were caught by police drinking inside the diggers after destroying a church wall and several street lights.

At Glasgow Sheriff Court, sentence on Barr and Rooney was deferred and both were remanded in custody.

The pair, who are being held in Polmont Young Offenders Institution, also admitted driving dangerously and striking street lights, a fence, a wall and an electricity box and stealing boots and jackets from a portable cabin at the site.

We shouldn’t find this story amusing, but with the maximum speed of a digger around 4-5km per hour, we can’t imagine them exactly speeding around the streets of Glasgow!

Anyway, here’s Matt saying hello during his mid afternoon tea break. It’s a look that could catch on…maybe.

Talk to the diggers excavators team on 08000 82 80 83 for more help on booking.

OK, our mini diggers are a little bigger than the one above, but you get our point.

We supply mini diggers up and down the country. They’re normally used at domestic properties in gardens to shift muck and soil. They’re great at manoeuvring around and can fit through narrow spots.

Hire a skip and a mini digger and get your garden sorted for this summer!