North Entrance: Digger hero Ben Weber helps unblock The Entrance Channel

When a man heard residents were desperately using shovels to unblock a clogged up channel he decided to fire up his digger. For three hours he went to work on the sand before police and rangers ordered him off the beach.

• Property stylist Kelsie Birmingham fined for speeding on Central Coast
• Gosford dad jailed for revenge porn Snapchat post

When Chittaway Bay’s Ben Weber heard there were “local legends” at North Entrance using shovels to unblock the channel during Sunday’s torrential rain and flash flooding, he immediately wanted to help.

“We were at home watching water levels rise, sandbagging and getting our house prepared,” Mr Weber told the Express.

“I heard a few locals were down there with shovels so I thought I’d check it out. I took my work truck which had an excavator on the back. I got there and thought ‘stuff it, I’m going to give these guys a hand’.”

Mr Weber took his excavator onto the sand.

Mr Weber said it was a spontaneous decision.

Mr Weber drove the excavator onto the sand at Dunleigh Point and started digging, hoping to create a passage from the channel to the ocean to avoid further flooding of Tuggerah Lakes.

Many people across the region have been calling on Central Coast Council to recommence dredging on the silted up channel to improve the quality of the waterways and avoid massive flooding.

“We all rallied together and started digging it out,” Mr Weber said.

“The water did go through eventually but I don’t know how successful it was.”

Mr Weber managed to dig for around three hours before council rangers and police ordered him off the beach.

Tuggerah Lakes Police District confirmed they were called to The Entrance Channel to assist council rangers yesterday, however said no charges were laid.

The Express has contacted Central Coast Council for comment regarding the incident.

Many locals were using shovels to dig a passageway in the torrential train.

“I’m going to be in a fair bit of trouble, but it was a spontaneous decision,” Mr Weber said.

“In hindsight it may not have been the best thing to do but I wasn’t going to just sit at home on the couch and watch the water levels rise without trying to help.

“I hope it highlighted that locals want council to do something about the state of the lake. It’s an absolute disgrace. I think I’m right in saying every one of us locals are fed up with the state of our waterways and want something done now.”

The issue is set to come to this week’s council meeting in Gosford, which has been postponed to Wednesday night due to the weather conditions.

The Entrance Boat Shed during yesterday's torrential rain and flash flooding. Picture: Facebook

Councillors Bruce McLachlan, Jilly Pilon and Greg Best are calling for council to start break wall designs and allocate funds to a 2020 channel dredging program.

In their notice of motion, the councillors’ state there is “ongoing resident dissatisfaction of the deteriorating condition of Tuggerah Lakes system and The Entrance Channel”.

They state The Entrance Channel is very vulnerable to a repeat of the devastating floods of June 2007, that destroy many homes.

Cr McLachlan said “doing nothing and ignoring the increase flood risks of the increasingly silted up channel is just simply not an option.”

Flood waters have opened up the original channel today.