Mum left puzzled after binman with ‘vendetta’ launches wheelie bin into lorry

A binman was caught on CCTV launching a grandmother’s bin into a lorry, rubbish and all. Amanda Nicholson, 46, has told how she wheeled her bin onto the street outside her home in Wythenshawe, Manchester, as normal one morning last month but found the container was missing entirely the next day. The mum-of-five was initially puzzled about the disappearance, with the grey bin having gone missing two weeks previously – until her neighbour handed over a video recording. Emma Probert caught the binman on CCTV hefting the entire container into a waste collection truck after she wheeled it to the kerbside on July 10. She said the footage initially left her enraged, but over time, she realised the more she watched, the “funnier it gets”. Ms Nicholson told the Manchester Evening News she initially assumed Ms Probert had taken the food and waste bin into her home accidentally and went to speak to her neighbour. She went across the street and took the bin on her property, leaving the neighbour confused when she returned home to find hers missing. Ms Probert discovered the “peculiar” scene when she investigated what had happened by checking her CCTV. Ms Nicholson said the footage showed the unidentified binman initially appearing to empty the bins’ contents into the truck as usual. Gran left puzzled after binman with ‘vendetta’ launches wheelie bin into lorry (Image: Kennedy News and Media) Amanda Nicholson was shocked to find her bin missing one afternoon (Image: Kennedy News and Media) But, after “checking nobody is watching”, he is seen doing what the grandma described as a “strong man act” and throwing the whole bin after the rubbish. She said: “In the video, it comes down and he just picks it up, checks there’s nobody in the garden, and just throws it. There he was, doing his strong-man act with my bin. “The other bin man doesn’t even bat an eyelid either like it’s normal. Have I annoyed my bin man or something? Is it a vendetta?” Biffa, the waste management firm which handles household and municipal refuse on behalf of Manchester City Council, claimed the man believed the bin was damaged, but Ms Nicholson disagreed. She said the container was in good condition, leaving her bemused as to why it was taken. The firm has since apologised for the incident, given the mum a new bin, and pledged to take “internal action” to ensure the incident isn’t repeated.