Digger hire
Digger hire comes down to two questions: how tight is the access, and how deep is the dig. We keep the answer simple with two modern JCB machines. The 1-tonne 8008 CTS micro digger retracts to 700 mm, folds to 1.38 m and digs to 1.71 m, so it goes down a side passage and into a back garden — £75 per day including VAT. The 4.8-tonne 48Z-1 zero tail swing mini excavator digs to 3.71 m and clears in a day what the micro takes three to do — £200 per day including VAT. Both are delivered from our Norwich (NR3) or Peterborough (PE1) depot at £1 per road mile, with genuine live availability on the booking calendar.
JCB 8008 CTS (1t) and JCB 48Z-1 (5t)
Including VAT. Delivery £1 per road mile.
Weekly hire: £300 for 7 days — pay four days, keep it for seven. Weekend hire (Friday afternoon to Monday morning) is charged as a single day.
- Micro digger
- JCB 8008 CTS — 1t, £75/day
- Mini excavator
- JCB 48Z-1 — 4.8t, £200/day
- Plant trailer
- Ifor Williams LM166 — £45/day (Norwich)
- Operator
- Trained operator — £200/day
- Delivery
- £1 per road mile from NR3 or PE1
- Minimum hire
- 1 day, or 2 days beyond 40 miles
What it is good for
- Rear-garden landscaping through a narrow side passage (1t)
- Extension, garden-room and outbuilding footings
- Driveway excavation and full site strip (5t)
- Drainage runs, soakaways and utility trenching
- Pond digs, stump removal and fence post holes (1t)
- Bulk muck-away, farm tracks and yard work (5t)
Where we deliver
Delivered and collected by us from the Norwich & Peterborough depot (NR3 / PE1) at £1 per road mile, worked out on real driving distance to your postcode. Sites 40 road miles or further from the nearest depot carry a two-day minimum hire.
- Norwich
- Peterborough
- Great Yarmouth
- Cambridge
- Wymondham
- Dereham
- Wisbech
- Stamford
- March
- Ely
- Huntingdon
- Lowestoft
Who covers what.
No surprises after you book. This is exactly where our responsibility ends and yours begins on insurance, deposits and damage — the same wording as our hire agreement.
You cover the machine while it's on your site
Plant is not automatically insured by us once it leaves the depot. You need hired-in plant cover for the full replacement value (theft and accidental damage included), or you accept liability for loss and damage yourself. We may ask to see evidence of cover before we deliver.
No separate security deposit
We don't hold a damage deposit or take a card pre-authorisation. You pay the hire and delivery total up front — by card at checkout or bank transfer — and nothing further unless damage, loss, missing fuel or extra days are chargeable after collection.
Misuse and accidents are yours, breakdowns are ours
From delivery until collection the machine and attachments are your responsibility. Damage from misuse, neglect or an accident is charged at the reasonable cost of repair, and full replacement value if it's lost, stolen or written off. Fair wear and tear or a genuine mechanical breakdown is on us — stop work, ring the depot, and we'll repair or swap the machine as fast as we can.
Back clean and refuelled
Machines arrive serviced, clean and full of fuel. Return them the same way. If a machine comes back excessively dirty or short of fuel we charge the reasonable cost of cleaning or refuelling — no arbitrary penalty fees.
Access, services and competent operators
You confirm safe, legal access for our transport, mark or trace underground services before digging, and make sure only competent, trained operators use the machine. If we can't deliver or collect because access is blocked or nobody's on site, a wasted-journey charge equal to the delivery cost may apply.
Free to cancel up to 48 hours before delivery
Full refund outside 48 hours. Inside 48 hours we may keep one day's hire for the lost slot and transport. Date changes are free subject to availability.
Read the full hire terms →Digger hire — FAQs
How much does it cost to hire a digger?
£75 per day including VAT for the 1-tonne JCB 8008 CTS micro digger and £200 per day including VAT for the 4.8-tonne JCB 48Z-1. Delivery is £1 per road mile from the nearest depot, calculated live from your postcode on the booking page, and there is no fuel surcharge, insurance levy or environmental charge added afterwards. A trained operator is available at £200 per day.
What size digger do I need?
Measure the narrowest point on the route to the dig. Under roughly 750 mm and the 1-tonne micro is the only machine that will get in; it digs to 1.71 m, which covers patios, ponds, drainage and garden-room footings. With 2 m of access or more, and real volume to move, take the 4.8-tonne machine — it digs to 3.71 m and usually works out cheaper overall because it finishes in fewer days.
Where do you deliver diggers?
Across Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, south Lincolnshire and the surrounding counties, from our Norwich (NR3) and Peterborough (PE1) depots. The booking page routes your postcode to whichever depot is nearer and charges £1 per road mile on the genuine driving distance. Sites 40 road miles or further from the nearest depot carry a two-day minimum hire.
Can I hire a digger for a single day?
Yes, anywhere within 40 road miles of either depot. A great many of our hires are single-day garden and drainage jobs. If you want the dig finished properly first time, adding a trained operator at £200 per day often costs less than a second day of self-drive hire.
How much is delivery?
Delivery is £1 per road mile from our nearest depot (NR3 or PE1), charged on genuine driving distance to your postcode rather than a flat zone rate — so a job five minutes away costs a fraction of one an hour away. The booking page works the cost out live from your postcode before you pay, and all prices include VAT. Sites 40 road miles or further from the nearest depot carry a two-day minimum hire.
Do I need a licence or ticket to use it?
There is no legal requirement for a licence on private domestic work, and our machines go out on a self-drive basis to competent operators. On commercial and CDM-regulated sites your principal contractor will normally expect a CPCS or NPORS card for excavator operation. If you would rather not operate it yourself, we can supply a trained operator with the JCB 8008 CTS for £200 per day — just ask when you book.
What happens if something goes wrong on site?
Every machine leaves us serviced, fuelled and checked, and we walk you through the controls at handover. If a machine develops a genuine fault during your hire, call the depot and we will repair or swap it — you are not charged for downtime that is our fault. You are responsible for the machine while it is on your site, so it should be immobilised and secured overnight, and any accidental damage or loss is chargeable.