Bin theft boy, 3, gets lorry visit surprise

Tom MacDougallNorth East and Cumbria
News imageSupplied Brandon Osborne, a young man wearing an orange high-visibility jacket and holding an information booklet for children about how to dispose of their rubbish responsibly. On the cover, we can see a cartoon of a banana wearing a cape, captioned: "Become a food waste hero!" Next to him is three-year-old Arthur, who has blonde hair and wears a purple school jumper. The pair both hold the handle of a small, red bin. Arthur, in his other hand, also holds a tiny, red replica of a wheelie bin.Supplied
Waste and recycling officer Brandon Osborne visited three-year-old Arthur at his nursery

A three-year-old who had his toy bins stolen has received a surprise visit from a local refuse collector who took his lorry to the boy's nursery.

Waste and recycling officer Brandon Osborne visited Kader Primary School in Middlesbrough on his day off to give Arthur a new set of bins and show pupils his wagon.

Arthur’s mum Rosie had appealed for help on social media after the toys were taken from their driveway.

She said of the school visit: "It was a lovely surprise for Arthur and he was absolutely over the moon."

Acklam ward councillor Luke Henman spotted Rosie's post online and worked with council staff to arrange the surprise.

Rosie said her son's obsession with refuse collection had started when he was a toddler and he "loved" watching their bins being emptied, prompting the family to find him a miniature set of his own.

"There's been times when the binmen have gone past, he's had his own wheelie bin, and we've walked down the street with them while they've collected the other bins," she said

However, one day the bins disappeared from the front of their home, despite being labelled with stickers carrying Arthur's name.

"We told him the binmen had borrowed them and were going to bring them back, but he was asking every day where they were," she said.

She said she was "shocked" by the visit to his nursery.

"Everyone rallied together, it was just really nice to see his face and Brandon was just brilliant with the kids," she said.

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