Western Daily Press (Saturday)
BOY’S TEARS AS SNOWMAN ATTACKED
AFAMILY whose three-yearold boy was distraught when a binman kicked the head off his snowman have spoken of their shock at the incident.
Three-year-old Joseph Taylor was left in floods of tears after watching the grinning binman boot the head off his 7ft-tall creation with a Bruce Lee-style kick.
The youngster and his six-year-old sister Amelia and their friends had built the snowman outside their homes last Sunday.
On Tuesday Joseph was watching the binmen collect the rubbish from his home in Tupsley, Hereford, but cried out when he saw it attacked.
Shocked mum Sophie, 25, said: “Joseph always likes to watch the binmen out of the window and waves at them.
“On Tuesday he came running to me in tears sobbing ‘the binman has broken my snowman’ and he started doing a kicking motion.
“I didn’t really understand what he meant but when we watched the CCTV back I was really shocked.
“What kind of person does that to a snowman? It was obviously made by children but he just started kicking it in the head. To do that in front of Joseph makes it just so heartless.”
The family’s security cameras captured the binman - wearing an orange boiler suit - take a run-up before kicking the snowman in the head.
He then continued to empty the green wheelie bins with two colleagues before turning back to the snowman where he launched a flurry of kicks sending it toppling over.
The binman has since taken to social media to defend himself and bizarrely compared the row to the coronavirus pandemic.
In a rambling Facebook post, he wrote: “Yes I kicked the snowman. No it doesn’t have feelings.
“Yes the people who made it (kids) have young feelings. Let’s look at the bigger problem in this world Covid19 people have feelings about this.”
Joseph’s furious dad Tom Fallon, 33, who works as an IT systems administrator, blasted the binman, saying: “It’s just so thoughtless.
“After the snow over the weekend Joseph and the kids next door took it in turns, all socially distancing, to add to the snowman.
“It was huge by the end of the day and the kids loved it. When I watched this bully use it as some kind of kick bag I was horrified.
“I emailed the company he worked for who said they were launching disciplinary proceedings.
“I just hope he thinks harder about his actions. Joseph usually loves watching the binmen out the window but he’s too upset to do that now.”
The couple contacted Herefordshire Council who confirmed the binman was from an agency and would not be used again.
A council spokesman said: “We are aware of this incident and are disappointed that an individual representing the council would behave in such a manner.
“The employee was a member of agency staff working on behalf of one of the council’s contractors, and he has been informed that he will not be used again.
“Information has also been circulated to all agency employees outlining the professional standards they are expected to uphold when representing a Herefordshire Council contractor.”