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Grand disaster for runaway piano

By Peter Sorel-Cameron

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LONDON, England (CNN) -- Removal men delivering a grand piano to a music festival in England dropped the instrument, worth an estimated £45,000 ($89,000), out of their van.

John and Penny Adie, organizers of the Two Moors Festival in the southwest county of Devon, had spent two years raising money to buy the piano, only to watch in horror as it fell to the ground with "one hell of a crash."

A crowd had gathered to watch the arrival of the instrument which was to form the centerpiece of this year's festival, but was stunned to see it tumble from the removal van.

"It bounced on the drive, landing on its side," John Adie told the Times newspaper. "It kept going and because it was a bank with steps it flicked over and landed on its lid. There was one hell of a crash and all its notes went at once."

The Adies bought the piano at auction for £26,000 ($51,410), but this was considered a bargain. The auctioneer said it would have cost £90,000 ($178,000) new, the Times reported.

Although the festival will get the money spent at auction back through their insurance, finding another grand piano of the same quality for such a low price is unlikely, the Times said.

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