Nobody was hurt even though the crane, which has been owned by UK-based rental company Reed Crane Hire for around five years, cut in half the roof of the £200,000 (€295,000) house in Coniston Avenue, Fulwell.

The five residents avoided injury, but nearby homes were evacuated because of fears of a gas leak.

The crane remained in the wreckage for nearly two days before finally being lifted away.

The crane was about to lower the hot tub into the back garden when the wheels closest to the house sank into the ground and caused the crane to topple.

It is unclear why exactly this happened, but the HSE, which first attended the site last Friday, confirmed that it will examine ground conditions, the planning process preceding the lift, and the load itself as possible causes.

A spokesman for Reeds Crane Hire told Cranes Today: “This is an unfortunate incident, but we can’t say much at this stage with the HSE involved. We suspect that the ground conditions caused the accident and don’t think we could have foreseen it happening.”