Maybe with some more details –

– where is the quarry?

– how big were they?

– did they have colors or markings not obvious in the photo?

The tail looks flattened from the side, suggesting that it is some aquatic animal (as opposed to, say, some terrestial lizard just swimmign around). I would go for some kind of an amphibian, such as newt. However, based on the shadow made by the creature it appears to lack webbing in its feet, which is suppose should be present in newts.

Anyway, I’m fairly certain it is an amphibian of some sort. Like Darby said, some additional information might be useful. For example, when on land did its skin appear "slimy" or "dry or scaly"? 🙂

How was it walking on land to cause you to rethink your "lizard" hypothesis?

It is almost undoubtedly an amphibian, but that is obviously not specific enough 😛

Sounds like newts, which usually do not have webbed feet.

Try this, about halfway down – the smooth newt-

http://www.overthegardengate.net/wildlife/frogs.asp

Yeah, you are correct. My bad!

I don’t know, but the body looks quite wide…

Yeah i does, but maybe it is well-fed 🙂

Or maybe it is carrying spawn or something. But I really cannot imagine any other animal than newt that this could be. Salamanders are stocky for sure, but that does not look like one and the pic was taken in England anyway…