Going up! That's the new £100,000 escalator at Colchester's Williams and Griffin department store.

In and out - the new escalator is guided in. Picture: STEVE ARGENT 41205-2

In a carefully-choreographed operation, the six-tonne addition was manoeuvred through one of the High Street shop's huge rear windows.

Amazingly, it took crane experts only 30 minutes to lift it off the lorry and into its final position.

Sales and marketing director Lorraine Barnett said: "The planning has been the crucial part. We had a group of professionals who install these, and they were here from Yorkshire yesterday. It takes only half an hour to slide in, but the weather didn't exactly help."

Measuring ten metres in length, the escalator links the women's fashion department to the second floor, and replaces one that has been in the store since 1963.

Ms Barnett said the installation would be completed within three days, but would not be used by shoppers until the completion of the store's £1 million refit on March 12.

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Published Monday, February 21, 2005

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