A true rookie error on my part i'm afraid, having not seen either species before I had based my identification of the bird I saw largely on size. When I came onto the forum last night I noticed Dean Eades photo of the White Stork reported at Thornton Curtis, which I then checked on bird guides. I noticed a further sighting of the bird had occured in the afternoon at Market Weighton, which seemed a logical path for the bird I had seen crossing the Humber. I recognised the bird in the photograph instantly as the bird I had seen on the wing, particulalrly becuase of the distinctly ragged plumage especially the missing wing primaries.
No doubt I have made a bit of a prat of myself to the wider birding public in Lincolnshire, but I guess its all part and parcel of the process of learning and i'm prepared to have a bit of a laugh in this case at my own expense
. It serves as a valuable lesson to pay more attention in future and assume nothing. To answer Andrews question your bird is definitely different to mine in the fact that it acutally was a Common Crane 
That said it was still a good experience to see a new species in Lincolnshire even though sadly it is only an escapee. I will pay for the stitches if anyone splits a side reading this.
Rgds
Joe