CASE STUDY · ENFORCEMENT
Five containers, heavy snow and a quarry forfeiture
North West England · Early 2025
One job that has stayed with me was a commercial lease forfeiture at a quarry in North West England. It was early 2025, and we were attending with one of our regular national enforcement partners.
The instruction was familiar: gain entry and change the locks. Getting around the site was the difficult part.
The quarry was reached by a narrow, winding road used by the large tipper trucks collecting aggregate. It was covered in snow, with very little room to turn around. When I arrived, a security officer was already waiting at the locked gates, and the enforcement agent arrived behind us.
I removed the gate lock so we could get onto the site. Beyond the gates, the snow was untouched. There was another hill to climb before we reached the containers, and the vehicles struggled to get up it. We initially took our tools and continued on foot.
It was only about a five-minute walk, but uphill through shin-deep snow, it felt considerably longer.
There were five containers to secure altogether, including two upper containers reached by external steel staircases. Moving between them took care: it was still snowing, and the steps were wet and slippery.
I opened all five using non-destructive entry techniques. Even when a lock is being replaced, I’ll usually try picking it first. If it opens readily, that can be quicker than drilling it and avoids unnecessary damage.
On the final container, the cylinder wasn’t the only issue. The door’s locking mechanism had failed as well. Fitting a new cylinder alone wouldn’t have left it secure.
Fortunately, I had a replacement mechanism in the van. By then, I’d managed to bring the van up to the working area, so I could replace both the mechanism and the cylinder during the same visit.
That final container had been found while the enforcement agent was checking the rest of the quarry. We stayed on site while those checks were completed, making sure everything that needed attention had been dealt with.
Leaving took some patience too. Three aggregate trucks had arrived and were waiting on the narrow approach road. They had to turn back before we could get out.
Before leaving, I fitted a new chain and padlock to the main gates and gave the gate keys to the security team. They could then get in and out while the containers remained secured separately.
By the time we left, all five containers had new cylinders, the failed mechanism had been replaced, and the gates were secured. I was pleased we’d had the parts with us—and very ready to get out of the snow.