Bulldozer drives into waters at Surfers Paradise beach

Gold Coast council have responded to the bizarre footage of a bulldozer being driven into the surf, which they say will cause it “no damage”. WATCH THE VIDEO.

Bizarre footage of a bulldozer being driven into the surf at a popular Gold Coast beach is raising eyebrows.

The footage, posted to a community page on Thursday by resident Shannon Bourke, shows the bulldozer driving into the waves at Surfers Paradise where beach restoration work is currently underway.

“I’ve seen some dumb s —t … but council paying to destroy a dozer,” the caption read, without it being clear exactly how the bulldozer comes to be in that position.

Mr Bourke said he had seen the bulldozer being driven into the water “for hours”, sparking a flurry of online commentary.

“Council (is) not paying, we are paying,” one woman wrote.

“Futile,” another wrote.

A Gold Coast City council (GCCC) spokesperson said the bulldozer was scraping sand from the ocean to put against the sand dunes.

“(It is) to increase the sandy beach buffer in preparation for the erosion expected due to the overnight tides,” they said.

“This is part of our ongoing, long term beach restoration program.”

While locals were concerned about the condition of the bulldozer as saltwater can cause machinery to rust, the GCCC spokesperson said it would cause “no damage”.

“This machinery often works on the beach and is subject to salt spray regardless of where it is.”

A bulldozer drives into the ocean at Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast. Picture: Facebook/Shannon Bourke

One Gold Coast woman said: “Gosh the machinery will definitely rust once its finished working on the beach. It’s a mammoth job to get some sort of beach back and stop the erosion”.

“I was thinking the exact same thing when I was watching the dozer yesterday – rust city,” another said.

It comes a week after Mayor Tom Tate revealed restoration efforts to fix the city’s beaches post-Cyclone Alfred had been delayed due to large swells and high tides.

A dredger is being used to pump sand back onto the beach but it cannot be used in poor weather conditions.

“We initially booked the dredger for eight weeks but Mother Nature brought some high tides and big swells,” he said.

Mr Tate said restoring Surfers Paradise was a priority so that it would be “pristine” ahead of the Pacific Airshow in August.