A BIN lorry has been forced to dump its contents in the middle of a residential street after a refuse fire broke out inside it.
An image shows waste and black bags piled high on Barnet Grove in Tower Hamlets, East London, after the fire yesterday.
The cause of the fire was later discovered when eight canisters of lighter fluid were recovered from the debris.
Tower Hamlets Council has now warned its residents about proper disposal of hazardous waste to prevent dangerous incidents and delays to services.
It is believed to be the second incident of its kind in the last week with locals becoming increasingly frustrated.
A picture shows the bin lorry stopped in the middle of the residential street blocking the road.
A sea of loose and bagged waste, bizarrely topped with what appears to be branches, is piled on the road behind it.
The entire street is blocked by the mountain of rubbish reaching the height of a car and measuring longer than two car lengths.
Refuse workers were forced to dump the contents of the bin lorry mid collection after they were endangered by the fire.
The cans of lighter fluid believed to have started the fire burst into flames in the back of the lorry prompting workers to quickly dump the contents into the street.
Emergency services attended with two fire engines arriving to tackle the blaze and services being left significantly delayed.
A post to social media yesterday read: “A waste vehicle had to empty 10 tonnes of waste on to Barnet Grove this morning due to a fire in the vehicle.
“8 canisters of lighter fluid were found in the debris. Two fire engines attended the location.
“As a result, there will be delays to waste collections in the Bethnal Green area and disruption to local street cleansing services.
“Dispose of waste properly – fires caused by hazardous waste, including lighter fluid and batteries, are extremely dangerous and put our staff at risk.
“All hazardous substances must be collected by a specialist service.”
The post has since received a slew of likes and comments from locals keen to share their thoughts.
One wrote: “There may be a specialist service but not everyone knows that. Make it more noticeable that people need to use this service as this is the second one now in less than a week.”
A second commented: “It’s just another pile if rubbish to compliment the other piles of rubbish all over this godforsaken, stinking rotten borough.”
Another said: “Most unfortunate for employees involved. Look at some of the ex-Greater London Council sites.
Accidents are waiting to happen. Trees haven’t been trimmed with lots of dead branches near an under-fives play area.
A fourth added: “That is awful and scary.”
Another quipped: “Looks like most streets in Tower Hamlets.”
