Documents filed at Companies House reveal the scale of debts with 564 unsecured creditors left holding unpaid invoices.

One angry supplier took the law into its own hands by seizing a telehandler from the failed contractor’s fleet.

Administrators from Grant Thornton is planning to sell the company fleet of seven telehandlers but said “the retrieval of the telehandlers posed challenges, with one of the creditors unlawfully taking possession of one of the telehandlers.”

The administrators added: “However, this has since been successfully recovered and all plant, machinery and vehicles are now in the process of being auctioned.”

All 48 staff at the £53m-turnover regional contractor were made redundant immediately or in the weeks following the administration.

Acheson specialised in projects from £500k to £25m+ in many different sectors, including defence, public sector, education, health, leisure, commercial, industrial and residential.