A routine road repair job on the Yorkshire Dales farm turned into a muddy catastrophe for Reuben Owen, who ended up being scolded by his mother, Yorkshire Shepherdess Amanda Owen.
The incident occurred when Reuben’s colleague managed to sink a 26-tonne loading shovel into waterlogged ground during Tuesday’s episode of Channel 5’s Reuben Owen: Life in the Dales.
Reuben and his farmhand Capper had been attempting to restore a private road as a favour to his mother.
Despite Reuben’s explicit warning to avoid the grass, Capper drove the newly acquired equipment onto what appeared to be solid ground.
“I parked it there thinking it was hard. It looked hard,” Capper explained apologetically, as the massive machine became increasingly mired in the mud.
The situation prompted him to joke about filling in his P45, declaring: “Today is not my day.”
Our Yorkshire Farm matriarch Owen, 50, arrived at the scene to inspect the road repairs, only to discover the equipment disaster unfolding in the adjacent field.
“He doesn’t seem to be mending the road, but he also seems to be wrecking the field,” she observed, before adding: “And even better, it’s not our field, it’s our next-door neighbour’s.”
The well-known farmer described the scene as “a bit of a disaster at the moment”, noting her son’s visible distress at the predicament.
“Look at Reuben’s little face, even he is completely stumped as to what to do,” she remarked.
When asked about the impact on her road repairs, Owen quipped: “Does this alter the timeframe for me getting my road mended?” She also warned her son: “I’ll tell you something, your dad’s gonna kill you.”
The rescue operation required ingenuity, with Reuben deploying a 60-year-old two-tonne tractor called the Major to extract the stranded shovel.
Despite concerns about the vintage machine’s capabilities, it successfully began pulling the modern equipment from its muddy trap.
“I’m impressed, I didn’t think it’d do that,” Owen admitted as she watched the rescue unfold.
Despite her frustration about the delayed road repairs, she expressed pride in her son’s problem-solving abilities.
“Reuben does seem to enjoy a bit of a challenge. He likes problem solving and anything that involves him getting the old tractor out and making bad things go good,” she reflected.
Though she concluded “I’m not thrilled about it”, Owen acknowledged her son’s resourcefulness in resolving the crisis.
The team’s collaborative efforts eventually paid off, with the loading shovel successfully extracted from its muddy predicament.
Colleague Sonny had observed during the ordeal: “I’ve never seen Reuben so disappointed, he’s a bit upset, but we’ll get it out.”
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Following the equipment rescue, Capper ventured to the neighbouring property to inform them about the field damage. “You know when you just feel like you shouldn’t have got out of bed this morning?” Reuben joked as they assessed the situation.
Despite the setback, the road repair project ultimately proceeded with additional family support. Reuben’s brothers Sid and Miles, along with his father Clive, joined the effort to complete the tarmacking work that had been delayed by the morning’s mishap.