Brazen fly-tippers throw fridge from truck onto residential road

By Lucinda Herbert

Reporter

Published 12th Jan 2025, 15:43 BST

This is the moment brazen fly-tippers shoved a 'kebab shop' fridge off the back of a vehicle - which an angry Dagenham resident says disturbed him with a ‘bang’ he thought was fireworks.

Footage (click to play above) shows the fridge being pushed from the back of a truck onto a residential street, hitting the pavement with an almighty crash. But local resident Colin Aylward, whose doorbell camera captured the incident outside his home in Dagenham, East London, says this is not the first time such shameless fly-tipping has taken place on his road.

Council ‘don’t want to know’ about fly-tipping

The 52-year-old reported the incident to his local council and police, and workers arrived at the scene around an hour later. But video appears to show council workers rolling the fridge from where it had been left lying on its side on the pavement to a patch of grass.

Kebab shop fridge is fly-tipped on a residential street in Dagenham, East London, during the late hours of the night on January 7, 2025. — Kebab shop fridge is fly-tipped on a residential street in Dagenham, East London, during the late hours of the night on January 7, 2025. | Colin Aylward / SWNS

Kebab shop fridge is fly-tipped on a residential street in Dagenham, East London, during the late hours of the night on January 7, 2025. — Kebab shop fridge is fly-tipped on a residential street in Dagenham, East London, during the late hours of the night on January 7, 2025. | Colin Aylward / SWNS

Mr Aylward added that police had since contacted him saying they wouldn't be investigating the incident any further.

Fridge taken by scrap metal ‘Jawas’

"Both the council and the police don't want to know," he said. "People are always dumping stuff here all the time. The fridge was dumped at 11:52 last night (Tues, 07/01). I heard a bang and thought it was fireworks. They were still out there and I saw them drive off. I spoke to my neighbour and she said [the fridge] came from a kebab shop on Roman Road.

Footage shows the moment a kebab shop fridge is fly-tipped on a residential street in Dagenham, East London, during the late hours of the night on January 7, 2025. — Footage shows the moment a kebab shop fridge is fly-tipped on a residential street in Dagenham, East London, during the late hours of the night on January 7, 2025. | Colin Aylward / SWNS

Footage shows the moment a kebab shop fridge is fly-tipped on a residential street in Dagenham, East London, during the late hours of the night on January 7, 2025. — Footage shows the moment a kebab shop fridge is fly-tipped on a residential street in Dagenham, East London, during the late hours of the night on January 7, 2025. | Colin Aylward / SWNS

The annoyed local says he reported it to police but was told they ‘weren't going to do anything’. He added: "About one o'clock in the morning, two council workers came - but they just rolled it along. They rolled it onto the grass, swept up the glass and left it there."

The following morning, Mr Aylward's cameras caught the fridge being loaded into a red van, presumably for scrap metal, by men he compared to the Jawas from Star Wars - creatures who roam planets in search of discarded metals.

‘It was lovely in the 80s’

Mr Aylward, whose family have lived on the same road for generations, said the area had become much worse in recent years.

"It was lovely in the 80s when I was a kid," he said. "It has turned into an absolute s***hole. It's just filth. No one cares."

Barking and Dagenham council was approached for comment.

Dagenham Police Fly-tipping Council

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