Note to readers — You know how a nice bit of chocolate on your desk at the end of a warm day melts and goes all squishy in its wrapper? Mmm, yes. Lovely, isn’t it? Now get that mental image out of your head and put down the chocolate because you won’t want anything brown and squishy near you at the moment. You’re not still eating, are you? Good. You may proceed.
There was a big stink in Redbridge, east London, on Monday, resulting in the hospitalisation of six binmen. The refuse workers became ill after handling a bag filled with a rather unappetising combination of rotting nappies and household chemicals, “releasing a flood of suspicious-smelling liquid, which raised fears of possible toxic poisoning.”
Police and firefighters arrived on the scene wearing biohazard suits, some undoubtedly thinking they were going to discover the beginnings of biological warfare in London, complete with a video message from the perpetrator with details of his vicious plan to spread toxins and mayhem all over the capital. Imagine the letdown of discovering only a pile of faeces and Flash.
A Redbridge Council spokeswoman said: "It appears that ammonia from a bag of used nappies had mixed with some kind of chemical and caused this scare.”
The six workers were treated at King George’s Hospital in Ilford and then given the rest of the day off. We would bet money that their first words upon arriving home were ‘You’ll never guess the shit day I’ve had’. Poo makes for such good puns, doesn’t it?
Biohazard picture courtesy of Szczur's Flickr photostream
