Local historian Steve Peak writes: On 10 May 1932 Hastings Council driver John Payne was reversing his lorry on the end groyne at Rock-a-Nore as he prepared to empty its contents into the sea. For many years, the Council had used the beach below the groyne as a rubbish tip, and Mr Payne was trying to unload a large quantity of rubble from a Council building site.
Some railings that prevented people from falling off the 25-feet high groyne had been removed as usual, and a large piece of timber was laid on the ground to stop the lorry reversing over the edge. But when Mr Payne hit the plank, with the back of the lorry tilted up, the plank moved and the rear wheels carried on into the void.
The Observer reported: “Paralysed with horror, Payne’s mate and the workmen in charge of the tip saw the lorry topple backwards into the sea below, turning turtle before it disappeared beneath the waves. The tide was high and the lorry was submerged in several feet of water.”
Frantic messages for help were sent out and the tip attendant threw down a lifebelt. Two fishing boats, the Kathleen and Albatross, tried to rescue Mr Payne, but heavy seas and much debris from the lorry made it impossible. It was only when the tide went down that several fishermen managed to extract the dead driver.
41-year old Mr Payne was unmarried, and lived with his parents at 1 Victoria Avenue, Ore. He was well-known, and much liked by other people. He had been working for the Council for five years, but it refused to accept any liability for the accident, although it did pay for the funeral.
At the inquest, the jury said a wall high enough to stop a vehicle reversing over it should be built at the edge of the groyne. Such a concrete wall was constructed shortly afterwards, and is still standing there today. The adjoining boat compound was the site of the town’s ‘Dust Destructor’, which burnt most of the borough’s rubbish. Large lumps of slag from the Destructor can still be seen on the beach.
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1. Tragedy of when a lorry fell into the sea at Hastings
The scene on the beach after the tragic accident Photo: supplied
2. Tragedy of when a lorry fell into the sea at Hastings
Searching through the Council rubbish at Rock-a-Nore Photo: supplied