Kids devastated after binmen throw away carved pumpkins night before Halloween

01 November 2023 , 10:15

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Jessica Sutherland's front garden with two Halloween pumpkins displayed before they were thrown away (Image: Jessica Sutherland)

Children were left devastated after binmen tossed away their carved pumpkins from their doorsteps just hours before Halloween night.

Locals in south London were shocked to find their pumpkins missing from their front doors and porches on Halloween day, and have said the binmen took them on their weekly collection round. This left children "very upset" ahead of what should have been a fun day topped off with an evening trick of treating.

Jessica Sutherland, a local resident, claimed that "about 20 different people" had their pumpkins taken, and "looking around I can't actually see that many pumpkins left" The mum continued: "My five year old, Georgie, was very upset about it this morning. We carved a couple of pumpkins together. There were loads of pumpkins out and loads of people have had them taken. It just feels very wrong to do that to kids on Halloween."

"I thought we were always quite friendly with the guys that collected the bins. My youngest used to love watching the big truck come in and all the machinery that goes with it. We always come out and say good morning to them, obviously not this morning though because we missed it. This is the first time we have had a problem with it to be honest," MyLondon reported.

After the pumpkins had been taken away (Jessica Sutherland)

She added: "I think the sad thing is that it was quite deliberate. It's not like any of the pumpkins were in the bin, they were all displayed at the front of the houses or on the porch. Ours were placed on our bin store which is set behind the road, so they must have leaned in to get them. If you weren't sure on the date, wouldn't you ask your colleague if Halloween passed."

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Despite this, Jessica and Georgie are determined not to let this ruin their Halloween spirit. She shared: "Luckily we did go a little over the top with our decorations so I think we'll stick to what we've got at the moment."

Paul Kohler, a Merton resident and Lib Dem councillor for Wimbledon Town and Dundonald Ward, told the local democracy reporting service (LDRS): "Parents have been complaining of them taking the pumpkins off someone's doorstep and front wall. It's just the lack of thought of course that sums up Merton council. It's a case of them not getting the right instructions and not using a bit of imagination. This happened on Halloween of all days."

Hina Bokhari, a local resident and member of the London Assembly, said: "Not really in the 'spirit' of Halloween to have pumpkins taken from doorsteps with bin collections but that's what seems to be happening. Lots of angry parents in Merton having to buy replacements and kids won't be too happy either."

Veolia, the company responsible for waste management services in Merton council, has been blamed for a Halloween pumpkin disappearance. A Veolia spokesperson apologised for the incident, saying: "We regret that a member of our food waste collection crew incorrectly removed pumpkins from households. The operative has been informed of his mistake and briefed to ensure this does not happen again. We pride ourselves on working with the community in Merton and would like to apologise for this incident."

A representative from Merton council also expressed regret, saying: "We're very sorry to hear about this and hope this mistake by one of our contractor's operatives did not spoil Halloween for any of our residents. Veolia has assured us they have dealt with the matter to ensure this does not happen again."

* An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story. You can report any errors to [email protected]

Harrison Galliven