It’s the kind of plot you’d expect to see in Midsomer Murders: a group of community-minded villagers happens upon a bloodied dying stab victim as they go litter-picking on a Sunday morning.
Most of us would probably call an end to the day’s endeavour, understandably upset by the horror.
But the Wharfedale Wombles are made of sterner stuff.
For when this very thing happened to them at the weekend, they demonstrated true Yorkshire grit, kept calm, dealt with the matter in hand and carried on their work.
For when this very thing happened to them at the weekend, they demonstrated true Yorkshire grit, kept calm, dealt with the matter in hand and carried on their work.
One Womble rushed to the stabbed man’s aid while others, pink rubbish bags in hand, collected potential items of evidence to pass to West Yorkshire Police.
Meanwhile, the rest of the Wombles continued on their mission to tidy the streets.
A Facebook post boasted of an impressive 26 bags of litter collected, despite the day’s rather unexpected turn.
The litter-picking group Burley in Wharfedale Wombles are pictured with Great Uncle Bulgaria of Wimbledon Common
The road in the village of Wharfedale in Burley, West Yorkshire, was cordoned off after a man was stabbed
In quite an understatement, the group reported that its monthly pick was ‘filled with a lot more drama than usual’.
It explained that the Wombles stayed with the victim until an ambulance arrived, adding: ‘It was upsetting, and we hope everyone looks after themselves.’
And, showing commitment to the cause, the post concluded: ‘Notwithstanding the above drama, we did have a good turnout, with 24 people attending and collecting 26 bags of litter.
‘Thank you to everyone who pitched up and pitched in today.’
The incident unfolded shortly before 10am on Sunday in Burley in Wharfedale, a village which appears in the Domesday Book and has a population of 7,000.
West Yorkshire Police has confirmed the man died of an apparent stab injury.
A man aged 30 was arrested nearby and is being quizzed on suspicion of murder.
It is being treated as an ‘isolated and targeted incident’.
Retired IT worker Bob Felstead, 67, was one of the Wombles in attendance when the injured man was spotted.
He said a fellow volunteer was ‘holding the man’s organs in place’.
Pictured: The logo for the local litter picking group Burley in Wharfedale Wombles
An ambulance and air ambulance quickly arrived.
Mr Felstead added: ‘I carried on litter-picking. I saw the ambulance in attendance and thought there was not a lot I could do.
‘There is not a massive litter problem in the village. We usually get 20 bags of litter, which is what we got on Sunday.’
He estimated around 20 to 30 Wombles were out for the day.
The volunteer said: ‘We had no idea of the gravity of the problem. We only knew there was something going on when the helicopter arrived.’
An elderly man, who declined to be named, claimed the victim was stabbed at a nearby property.
‘I saw him go in with his mate and when he came out he had been stabbed,’ he added.
‘His mate was not wounded. He [the victim] staggered around the corner and collapsed.’
Local shopkeeper Wendy Kershaw, 68, said: ‘We were in the church. We had to lock the door and stay inside.’
She added that the Wharfedale Wombles were respected for their hard work and she was proud they ‘found and stayed with the victim’.