Moment refuse crews are attacked with axe and sledgehammer as they empty bins

12 September 2023 , 22:08

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Moment refuse crews are attacked with axe and sledgehammer as they empty bins

Video footage has shown the sickening moment two bin crews came under attack by a mob armed with an axe and a sledgehammer when a roadside row spilled over.

The driver of a black Vauxhall is seen jumping from his car and squaring up to a crew on a Stoke-on-Trent City Council refuse truck in the city. After the altercation the driver of the vehicle then pulls a lollipop man's school crossing patrol sign from his boot and begins to swing at the lorry as it makes its escape.

Later the same day the driver of the car and three other men appeared on another road, where a different bin crew is on its rounds. They leap from the car and armed with what appear to be a hatchet, axe, sledgehammer and baton run towards the council vehicle, whose crew appear oblivious to what is going on.

The crews came under attack by people wielding hatchets (Stoke Sentinel / BPM Media)

StokeonTrentLive reported the vehicle was quickly set upon, and one member of the bin crew is struck across the body with a baton. As one member of the four-strong gang smashes the windows of the cab, another crew member can be seen being attacked as he falls over a wheelie bin. The driver of the first bin lorry driver was punched three times through a window during the attack, and needed hospital treatment for head, face and foot injuries.

More of the footage showing the crews coming under attack (Stoke Sentinel / BPM Media)

Three binmen were injured in the second attack, with one of them needing hospital treatment for facial, head and leg injuries. Police later located the Vauxhall Corsa and a sledgehammer was found inside. One of the gang was arrested in Suffolk three days after the attack.

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Kyle Hilditch, 18, admitted two counts of wounding with intent, two counts of conspiring to cause grievous bodily harm with intent, possessing an offensive weapon in a public place, and criminal damage. Kyle Worthington, 19, admitted conspiring to cause grievous bodily harm with intent and possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence.

The altercations came as a roadside row escalated (Stoke Sentinel / BPM Media)

Jack Spackman, 24, admitted two counts of conspiring to cause grievous bodily harm with intent, possessing an offensive weapon in a public place, and criminal damage. Joe Cordon, 27, was arrested in Suffolk and later admitted charges of wounding with intent, two counts of assault, two counts of criminal damage, driving a motor vehicle otherwise in accordance with a licence, and driving without insurance.

The men are all due to be sentenced on October 13 at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court.

Rob Andrews