Ale Piling has installed marker piles to protect Liverpool’s famous Iron Men beach statues.

It installed the piles to prevent boats colliding with Antony Gormley’s statues, which become submerged daily when the tide comes in.

The project involved driving a series of 10m long, 300mm diameter steel tubes into the Crosby beach on the tide line at the low water mark.

Ale Piling tracked down and moved all equipment onto the beach, and worked in the muddy low tide area.

The tubes were handled, pitched and driven using one of the company’s side grip vibration piling rigs, and driven to the required finished depth using its rig mounted percussive hammer.

All of the work had to be carried out within two-hour windows to suit the tides. It was carried out without a hitch and delivered on time – and all plant and employees made it out of the sea safely.

Added: Wednesday 24th February 2010