Surfing binmen video sparks probe

Binmen in the Black Country have been filmed "surfing" from the back of a lorry, sparring while on duty and hitting a dead rat.

The internet footage was today condemned as "completely unacceptable" by Walsall council chiefs and has sparked an investigation.

The three separate clips on the popular video sharing website YouTube have now been viewed by more than 1,300 people.

All three were uploaded by someone using the name 'ws2jamie'.

One, entitled 'Boxin binmen Walsall Council', shows two men in high-visibility jackets and boxing gloves, referred to as Jamie and Big Bill, taking part in a three-minute bout of sparring in front of a bin lorry. With the description 'Crouchy slappin up a dead rat', another shows a man repeatedly hitting what appears to be a dead rat, which is attached to the bottom of a wheelie bin as it is emptied into a truck.

The other video features footage recorded from another mobile phone and shows around 50 seconds of a refuse collector being pulled along a road by a bin lorry, while he skids on the soles of his shoes.

Keith Stone, Walsall Council assistant director for neighbourhood services, said the three men featuring in the videos were agency employees and no longer working for the council.

"This behaviour is completely unacceptable and the council treats these matters, in particular the health and safety issues, very seriously," he said.

"We are continuing to look through the footage to see if anyone else was involved and will be carrying out a thorough investigation."

One Walsall resident who asked not to be named said he was not impressed by the clips.

He said: "Whilst looking on YouTube.com for stuff on Walsall Council I was shocked when I came across several posted videos of Walsall Council refuse collection staff fighting, hitting a rat, playing about and above all hanging on the back of a refuse truck when moving.

"The videos are a disgrace to us Walsall residents who pay council tax for the refuse service and their antics shown on the videos are probably why most times our bin service is limited. The staff involved should be sacked as they are a disgrace to the council."

The clips are the latest 'pranks' uploaded to YouTube to have prompted controversy.

Last March, a video was posted on the site of a 22-year-old worker at the Brownhills branch of the Subway sandwich store shoving lettuce into his nose and mouth before spitting it out into a tray used to serve the public.

Richard Shannon, of Castle Street, Brownhills, was sacked and sentenced to 300 hours of unpaid work after a court hearing.