Families looked on as the refuse collectors became involved in ‘five-minute’ brawl

SHOCKED neighbours looked on as two binmen had a fight in the middle of a busy road.

Families watched in disbelief as the refuse collectors jumped out of the bin lorry in Tean Road, Cheadle, and began a ‘five-minute dust-up’ when they should have been collecting rubbish.

One witness says a third man tried to intervene and split up the brawling binmen, while on-lookers reported the incident to Staffordshire Moorlands District Council. The witness said: “There were two binmen fighting and it looked like they were throwing proper punches. I was just driving along Tean Road and saw them jump out and start throwing punches.

“I drove off again after a couple of minutes, but thought what happened was disgusting. I decided to then report the incident to the council.

“I t’s disgusting. If that’s what public servants are doing then it gives us no hope. It was in the middle of the morning as well.”

The district council confirmed it was aware of the incident and that it was being dealt with through ‘agreed internal procedures.’

Community leaders condemned the actions of the binmen. Town councillor Ron Locker, left, said he hopes the incident was a one-off. He said: “It is ridiculous. You just cannot condone that sort of thing. You really wouldn’t expect it from people who should be getting on with their jobs.

“It is a new one for me and I always thought the binmen would be too busy to find the time to fight.hopefully we’ll never hear of something like this again.”

Fellow councillor Ian Whitehouse added: “It is a shocking thing to happen. “No one wants to see council workers fighting. It could have been a personal disagreement, but you don’t want to see the binmen fighting in the streets.”

Stephen Ellis, who represents Cheadle West on the district council, said: “It is not acceptable in any shape or form.”

“Waste collection is one of the busier and most reliable services, and this is not something you usually see or hear about.”