One slip and house on the move | Hawkes Bay News | Local News in Hawkes Bay

"Just another day in the life of a house mover," Arthur Britton said with a chuckle this morning as he reflected on a removal job yesterday which had several locals scratching their heads.

To some it looked like an episode from Mission Impossible - but to Arthur and the Britton Housemovers crew it was just a case of mission accomplished.

"A lot of fun," he said, adding that there were challenges involved but nothing too much out of the ordinary although the Guys Hill Rd location on Napier Hill suggested otherwise.

The small fibrolite-clad cottage they shifted was effectively teetering close to the edge of a slip which struck the area last August.

As a result of the slip the house, owned by an Auckland woman, had been red-stickered.

Mr Britton called the woman and put in an offer, and she accepted.

Then it was simply a case of picking it up and taking it away.

"The bank was stable and we had plenty of room - safe as a church," he said.

The shift began at 9am and bemused locals watched as one side of the 10-tonne house was jacked up and the removal trailer maneuvered underneath. The other side, still secured, was then freed and the house settled onto the trailer.

Mr Britton said the fact the house was small and strong made it easier than it looked, and he praised the locals who were supportive and patient during the hour it took to get it away.

The house was taken up the winding Guys Hill Rd - "no real problems there" - and to Napier Tce and down Spencer Rd.

"It's in Wellington now," Mr Britton said.

"Got it there at 3am - it was a good trip down through the night as there wasn't too much traffic about.

He said the house would eventually be "recycled" as a new residence somewhere.