‘It was going to melt anyway!’: Sacked binman is not sorry for decapitating boy’s snowman
‘It was going to melt anyway!’: Binman who was sacked for decapitating three-year-old boy’s snowman with kung fu kick says row is ‘ridiculous’
- Callum Woodhouse caught on CCTV kicking off top of the snowman in Hereford
- Sophie Taylor, 25, said her son Joseph, three, helped build the 6ft-tall creation
- Council stated the bin collector will not be brought back to work for them again
- But Mr Woodhouse has now hit back at council and branded row as ‘ridiculous’
A binman sacked for decapitating a three-year-old boy’s snowman with a kung fu kick has today branded the row as ‘ridiculous’.
CCTV footage captured Callum Woodhouse kicking off the top of the 6ft-tall creation in Hereford while waiting for a bin to be emptied into the back of a refuse truck – before returning the bin to its spot on the pavement.
Sophie Taylor, 25, said her son Joseph, aged three, helped build the snowman on Saturday after an Arctic ice blast swept the country.
Herefordshire Council said it was ‘disappointed’ by the bin collector’s conduct and that he will not be brought back to work for them again.
But Mr Woodhouse has now hit back at the council and said that he feels ‘overwhelmed’ by how the action had such a ‘massive impact’.
Callum Woodhouse (pictured above at Kingstone, Hereford) has hit back at Herefordshire Council and said that he feels ‘overwhelmed’ by how the action had such a ‘massive impact’
Joseph, aged three, pictured with the destroyed snowman. Sophie Taylor, 25, said her son helped build the 6ft-tall creation on Saturday
He told LBC: ‘I’m overwhelmed by the fact kicking a snow man could have a massive impact on me, I felt like the snow man was obstructing my path way to work, as a bin man we have an important role which the community rely on.
‘So to lose my job over kicking something that’s going to melt anyway is ridiculous. The snowman was in the way to put the bin back in the first place.’
Speaking from his home in Kingstone, Herefordshire, Mr Woodhouse also said: ‘I’m the snowman killer, aren’t I.’
‘I’ve apologised to the family. I messaged them on the day it blew up [on social media] but they blocked me.’
Asked what he felt about losing his job, he said: ‘It’s a hard time. It’s a pandemic.’
Woodhouse, who said he is about to become a father, added: ‘I’m out of work now, just for kicking a snowman.
‘I’m going to be a dad now. I’ve lost my job, f***ed over a snowman. I have a family to feed.’
A petition launched yesterday asking Herefordshire Council to give Mr Woodhouse his job back has reached 456 signatures, at the time of writing.
Its description reads: ‘The guy worked throughout the whole pandemic, risking his own wellbeing and that’s what he gets?!’
Ms Taylor earlier told the Hereford Times that her son waves at the binmen while they collect his rubbish every week and then he ‘goes and does that in front of his face’.
CCTV footage captured Mr Woodhouse kicking off the top of the 6ft-tall creation in Hereford while waiting for a bin to be emptied into the back of a refuse truck
Mr Woodhouse (pictured above) said: ‘To lose my job over kicking something that’s going to melt anyway is ridiculous. The snowman was in the way to put the bin back in the first place’
The youngster’s creation lasted until Tuesday when Mr Woodhouse – an agency worker recruited to work for a council contractor – kicked its head off.
It is not the first time Woodhouse has got in hot water for ‘kicking off’.
Last July he was slapped with a 12-month community order, 120 hours of unpaid work and ordered to pay £250 for attacking a barman and headbutting two police officers in a drunken rage.
A court heard he had been boozing on July 4 when the lockdown was eased on so-called ‘Super Saturday’ but was refused entry to a pub beer garden because he was so drunk.
After refusing to leave, Woodhouse grabbed a barman’s shirt and shoved him while shouting and swearing at other pub goers.
He left the pub but was stopped by police. Woodhouse then threatened to strangle an officer with his handcuffs in they tried to arrest him.
Mr Woodhouse pictured with the mother of his future child. The binman said that he will soon become a father and has been left with no income
Officers called for emergency backup, and Woodhouse, who was trying to bang his head on the floor, was put in restraining belts.
While being taken to A&E by ambulance, he threatened police and headbutted one officer in the leg.
He headbutted another officer in the side of the head as he was taken away from the hospital.
Waste management company FCC said in a statement: ‘We were alerted to the incident by concerned residents and having reviewed the footage it was clear that the actions taken by this individual were not in keeping with the conduct expected of people representing our business or the council.
‘As the individual was employed through an agency, we requested that he did not return to work other than to hand the uniform back.
‘We believe this to be an appropriate measure given the nature of the incident.’
A Herefordshire Council spokesperson said: ‘The council was made aware of this incident and referred it to our waste collection contractor who employed the individual through an agency.
‘They have handled the matter according to their HR policies and have made the decision to request that he not return to work, as is their prerogative.’
