A HEAVY duty crane had to be hired to remove a dumped car after the police and even the army couldn't shift it.

The car was jammed at the top of a narrow flight of stairs in Milton Road, Belvedere.

Vandals had found the stolen dumped car at the top of the road and decided to push it down the hill, hitting at least one other parked car on the way.

The car careered down a flight of steps and was only prevented from crashing down the rest of the steps into houses in Abbey Crescent, by the metal handrail.

Bexley Council says it was notified of the trapped car the following day, but it took nearly two weeks to remove the car safely. Bexley's Ranger team, the local police and even Bexleyheath's Territorial Army unit tried to prise the car loose but there it would not budge.

A temporary bollard is in place and will be replaced by a permanent one, to prevent a similar incident.

A Bexley Council spokesmen said the incident highlighted the substantial resources needed to sort out the consequences of “one senseless act.”