Fly-tipper clothes as purple T Rex to cover face as they overtly hurl bin luggage on the street
A purple T-Rex went on a night-time rampage in Southend but locals reckon it was just an extreme attempt to dodge a fly-tipping fine – and the race is on to unmask the secret garbage slinger
A dinosaur is being hunted in Southend-on-Sea in Essex after cameras captured a mysterious purple figure flinging bin bags in the street.
The purple T-Rex is seen in social media footage dancing around a No Entry sign after launching two bags in a shameless act of littering then vanished into the night.
But an investigation is aiming to hunt down the costume-wearing criminal, who residents believe was in disguise to dodge hefty fines for fly-tipping.
A resident who posted the bizarre video said: “I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was the night before bin day too. Clearly, he is struggling with the new bin rules.”
The crime took place at the junction of Fairfax Drive and Electric Avenue in the Westcliff area of Southend-on-Sea in Essex.
The delinquent dinosaur is thought to have donned the disguise to evade cameras put up by the local council along the seafront after a rash of fly-tipping in 2023. The costume could help the perpetrator dodge a £400 fine for dumping rubbish in a public space in the seaside town.
But the crime has attracted plenty of attention. A resident woken by the dino said: “Well, Barney the Dinosaur was clearly up to some mischief last night.”
Cllr Lydia Hyde, a councillor and cabinet member for climate, environment, and waste, said fly-tipping is “a selfish act that should also be extinct”.
She said: “Naughty-Rex should be making better use of their blue and pink bins so they can be less ‘Refuse Jurassic Park’ and more ‘Reuse Plastics and Glass’.”
But the council’s new rubbish measures in October have sparked controversy. Tens of thousands of wheelie bins have replaced rubbish sacks. Locals branded the new system “confusing” and “crazy”, filling streets and gardens with plastic bins, up to five per household, reports the Daily Mail.
Elderly residents were also baffled by a new council app designed to help them remember which bin goes out on which day.
Locals complained that the seaside resort will turn into “Bin City” during the the transition from bags to bins. A resident even started a petition against the wheelie bins, fearing they would block pavements and become “an accident waiting to happen”.
Councillor leader Daniel Cowan said: “This new service makes recycling easier for residents and to keep our streets cleaner with waste kept in bins, not sacks that wildlife and vermin can rip open.”
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