Our machines go out with one of us on them. You get the digger, the operator and the ticket in one arrangement, so the job gets dug properly, the services underneath get found before they get hit, and nobody has to learn to run an excavator on a Saturday.
Mini digger hire is the hire of a compact tracked excavator for work that is too big for a spade and too small for a full-size machine. Ours comes operated, which means the machine always arrives with one of our own qualified operators on it.
That changes what you are buying. You are not taking on a machine, its transport, its fuel, its condition or the risk of running it. You are getting a groundworker who does this every working day, with the right machine underneath him and a dumper alongside it where the job needs one.
It suits anyone with a defined piece of digging to get through: a trench, a drainage run, a footing, a garden that has to come down a level, a patio area that needs taking out. Tell us the job and the access, and we will tell you what fits.
Trenching for footings, drainage, ducting, water and power, dug to line and depth rather than by eye, with the spoil kept where you can still get past it.
Soakaway pits, land drain runs and the falls that make them work. Getting the levels right in a trench is the whole job, and it is very hard to do from a hire yard machine you have never sat in.
Taking a sloping garden down to workable levels, cutting in terraces, forming a bank or reducing ground before a patio, base or lawn goes in.
Breaking out and digging out an old drive or patio to formation, so the new base is built on ground that will actually carry it rather than on what was already there.
Lifting stumps, root plates, old bases, buried concrete and the things that turn up once the topsoil is off.
Our own dumper moves the spoil, and the truck takes away what needs to leave. Clearance and muck away are handled as part of the work rather than left in a heap for you.
If you are running a build yourself, or you are a builder who needs a machine and a hand for a few sequences, we come in on your programme and work alongside your trades.
Most weeks the machines are on footings, drainage runs, driveway digs and garden reductions somewhere between the Lizard and the north coast, and a fair share of that starts as somebody wanting a digger for a day of clearing. Every photograph on this site is our own work, and we bring more of it to the site visit.
Our Google reviews are public, and we would rather you read them yourself than take a line on our website for it.
Based on 4 Google reviews
Commenting as the owner of this property I can honestly say that Aaron was a pleasure to work with. Efficient, reliable, extremely hardworking, on schedule, amazing quality and just an all round lovely guy! Thank you Aaron! You can see the almost (steps leading up to the tub yet to be added as a finishing touch) finished project on the Boutique Retreats website: Kilter House, Coverack
Read more on GoogleWould definitely recommend. Our driveway was a mismatch of 3 different sections of gravel, some old concrete and a step. In two days he has completely overhauled it and it looks amazing. Very fast worker, polite and professional and reasonably priced as well. You won’t be disappointed by Michael’s team at all!
Read more on FacebookAaron laid us a wonderful patio for our back garden. From the start he was highly professional and courteous. He sat with us to discuss the best, most cost efficient options to get us exactly what we imagined. Aaron was very reliable and his after care has been exceptional ensuring he delivers the highest quality for his clients. Highly recommended!
Read more on GoogleMike and his son did a fantastic job on our sandstone patio. They provided a competitive quote and had expert knowledge. The job itself was completed to a very high standard. We are very happy with it. I highly recommend. Thank you again for the fantastic work.
Read more on FacebookReally happy with the work from Aaron Hunt Groundworks. Aaron and his team were super easy to deal with—friendly, reliable, and clearly know what they’re doing. They turned up on time, got stuck in, and made sure everything was done properly with a great finish. They kept the place tidy and checked in with us throughout the job to make sure we were happy. No fuss, no stress—just solid, professional work. Would definitely recommend them to anyone needing groundwork done. Top team!
Read more on GoogleWe had been waiting for along time for this small bit of garden to be finished…the original person we had booked just didn’t work out in the end. We booked Sunset Surfacing We are so pleased with the work and can’t wait for the summer to arrive. They were clean, tidy and professional…thank you
Read more on FacebookExtremely happy with my new patio. It wasn’t the most straight forward to lay but Aaron managed to get the finish I wanted and was completely flexible and accommodating to make it happen for our time lines. Would highly recommend.
Read more on GoogleThe job gets dug onceLine, level and depth are where garden excavation goes wrong, and they are the things an experienced operator gets right first time rather than by trial and error.
What is buried gets found before it gets hitWater, gas, power and drainage runs are located and worked around, which is the single biggest risk on any dig near a house.
Nothing lands on youThe machine, the transport, the fuel, the tickets and the responsibility for running it are ours. There is no equipment for you to look after and nothing for you to sign up to operate.
You get the right machine, not the available oneWe size the machine to the access and the work, so it fits through the gate and still shifts what needs shifting.
One phone call covers the whole digMachine, operator, dumper and muck away are arranged together, so you are not chasing a skip, a driver and a machine separately and hoping they all turn up on the same morning.
Call or send the form with the postcode, what you need dug, roughly how deep, and the width of the narrowest point the machine has to get through. A photo of the gate or the side passage tells us more than a measurement does.
Aaron or Mike looks at the ground, the access, the levels and where the spoil can go, and flags anything likely to be buried.
What we will dig, the machine and operator coming, whether a dumper is needed, where the spoil goes, and anything that would change the price.
The digger arrives on our own truck, on the agreed date, with the operator on it.
The excavation is dug to the levels agreed, spoil is moved or taken away, and the site is left in a state you can work in.
Running an excavator is regulated work. The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998, regulation 9, require that anyone using work equipment has had adequate training in its use, in the risks that use involves and in the precautions to take. The Health and Safety Executive's guidance on avoiding danger from underground services, HSG47, then sets out the sequence before any ground is broken: check the plans, scan with a locator, then dig safely by hand where services are expected. An operated machine is how both of those get done as a matter of routine instead of as a hope.
Two CPCS 360 excavator tickets, above and below 10 tonnes. Between the two directors we can put a competent operator on any size of machine, which means the machine gets chosen for the job rather than for the ticket.
Groundworkers, not a hire desk. The operator on your job digs footings, drainage and driveways for a living.
HW Contractors is run by its two owner-directors, both on the tools. Mike Wherry has 30 years in the trade and holds CPCS 360 Excavator Below 10 Tonnes, a CSCS card, the Street Works Supervisor qualification and a dumper ticket. Aaron Hunt has 10 years and holds CPCS 360 Excavator Above 10 Tonnes, a CSCS card, the Street Works Operative qualification and a dumper ticket. That is 40 years of combined experience, and a team of three.
People ask for a machine when what they actually want is a hole in the right place, at the right depth, without anything getting cut through on the way down. Send the operator with the machine and that is what turns up.Mike Wherry, co-owner of HW Contractors
We work from Porthleven and our patch runs from the Lizard up to Newquay. Porthleven and Helston are the doorstep, and we take machines out regularly to Penzance, Falmouth, Mullion and the Lizard, Camborne, Redruth, Truro, St Ives and Newquay.
Because the machine travels on our own truck with the operator, distance is a scheduling question rather than a logistics problem for you. Give us the postcode and we will tell you how it fits the week.
We do not publish rates, because the machine is only part of what you are getting and every dig is a different amount of work. What you get is a free site visit with no obligation, and a written quote setting out:
Whatever is agreed is set out in writing before any work starts, and if the ground changes what the job needs, you get the revised figure before we carry on.
Footings, drainage, site preparation and levels, taken in sequence by one firm from the dig to the finished surface.
Groundworks
Want it done as a priced job instead of by the machine? We will quote the whole dig, the clearance and the muck away.
Excavation and site clearance
Soakaways, land drains and surface water runs, dug to the falls that make them work.
DrainageSend us the postcode, what you need dug and the width of the tightest point the machine has to get through, and one of us will come and look at it before anything is booked. The visit is free and there is no obligation.
Call us on 07886 070245·Get a free quote online
Porthleven, Cornwall
Phone: 07886 070245
Email: info@hwcontractors.co.uk
Hours: Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm
Last updated: 22 September 2026