Accident recovery across West London.

Hanger Lane gyratory, the Chiswick roundabout and flyover, the Hogarth roundabout and the Hammersmith gyratory all combine heavy volume with multiple lanes of merging traffic. Shunts here are common and often involve more than two vehicles.

They are also difficult places to recover from. There is rarely a safe place to stand, loading has to happen without blocking a live lane, and on the flyovers there is no hard shoulder at all. Getting the vehicle to a side road first — if it is driveable and it is safe — makes everything that follows easier.

The Great West Road and the M4 elevated section carry fast, dense traffic towards Heathrow. If your vehicle is stopped on the motorway itself, recovery from a live carriageway is handled by the operator appointed for that road, working with the police — that is not something a private recovery company can override, and it is not something you should wait around beside the vehicle for.

Once the vehicle has been taken to a place of safety, a service area or a compound, we can collect it from there and take it wherever it needs to go. That is very often how motorway jobs work in practice.

West London sees a high proportion of hire vehicles, courtesy cars and airport traffic, which adds a layer to the paperwork after an accident. If the vehicle is not yours, tell us — the process for recovery, storage and claim handling differs, and knowing early avoids problems later.

Away from the main roads, much of W3, W4, W5 and W6 is Victorian terraces with narrow streets, resident permit bays and cars parked both sides. A long recovery truck often cannot get in, let alone turn.

This is where a van or a Hiab working from the end of the street earns its place. Tell us the street when you call and we will work out what will physically fit.