Prankster surprises colleague on birthday by covering entire van with paper-mache and “c**k” balloons

A PRANKSTER surprised his colleague on his birthday by completely covering his van in paper-mache before attaching huge balloons spelling “c**k” on the top.

Scott Anderson decided to give his friend Ben Hennon a birthday he would remember on Monday by coating the Vauxhall Astra van in newspapers.

Scott, 41, spent two hours sticking paper on the entire body of the vehicle and on all four wheel trims using wallpaper paste.

He then stuck the pink and silver helium balloons across the bonnet, windscreen and roof to catch Ben’s attention – and anyone else passing by.

Ben, 36, burst out laughing when he arrived back at his home in Crook, Durham and spotted the eye-catching birthday surprise awaiting him.

The prank follows a series of practical jokes the two builders play on each other.

Local resident Graeme Fletcher shared a picture of the car to Twitter on Sunday, writing: “Someone’s in for a shock when they get up this morning.

The post has collected over 12,200 likes and more than 900 retweets from amused social media users who were left in stitches by the prank.

@jansenmann said: “I really hope it’s the wrong car.”

@dingopasty said: “Scrape a hole in the front and you’re good to go.”

@HuwTJones said: “I really want to know what the person at the shop thought of the balloon letter choices.”

@jcferth said: “Instead of ticketing cars in the bus or bike lanes can we do this?”

@Ofthelot said: “It’s the attention to detail that impresses me – they even did the wheels.”

Speaking today, Ben said: “Its an ongoing thing between us. It was brilliant. I just loved it and thought it was absolutely brilliant.

“Not many people mess with me or Scott because they know the lengths we’ll go to.

“You don’t need enemies with friends like us.”

The friends have a long-running history of pulling pranks on each other.

In 2020, Scott wrapped Ben’s old work van with a fake advertisement while he was away on holiday.

The advert read: “Brown Nose Ben Builders. Contact Mr Potatoe (sic) Head for a free no obligation quote.”

The van also had a picture of Matt Lucas’ Little Britain controversial character Daffyd Thomas who is renowned for saying he is the “only gay in the village.”

As a ploy to get Scott back, Ben painted the entire side of his house with the words: “I [love heart] Hennon.

Scott has also enlisted his step son to fill Ben’s van up with a bucket of insects.