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From skip hire in Bolton to skip hire across the UK, there are safety regulations that control what you can and can’t dispose of in a skip. Still, plenty of people have flouted the rules over the years, putting a range of weird and wonderful things in skips.
If you’re wondering what the strangest things that have been found in skips are, check out this list of eight astonishing items discovered in these waste disposal containers.
1) A caravan
You read that right – a whole caravan. As large as skips can be, they’re not quite big enough to dispose of an entire caravan, so someone in South Wales simply perched a caravan on top.
In this unusual case, the hire company refused to collect it unless they broke the caravan down into pieces that could fit in the skip – which the culprits eventually agreed to do.
2) Coffins
Back in 2007, a coffin was discovered sticking out a skip on a busy Norwich street. As if one coffin isn’t odd enough, a funeral director in Scotland tried disposing of two coffins in someone else’s skip.
Luckily, the coffins were empty, as human waste and organic matter are considered hazardous materials, which aren’t allowed in skips. However, on one occasion, workers at a sorting facility in Motherwell discovered an urn full of human ashes – which were luckily returned to the family!
3) An artillery shell
It’s not uncommon for World War I and World War II memorabilia to pop up in skips after house clearances, but an artillery shell is a bit different! In 2006, the Royal Navy Bomb Disposal Squad had to investigate a World War II artillery shell found in a skip, which turned out to still be live.
The Bomb Disposal Squad were able to safely detonate the bomb with a controlled explosion in a quarry nearby. If the shell had exploded in the skip, who knows what could have happened.
4) Stolen artworks
A notorious theft from the Museum of Modern Art in Paris in 2011 ended miserably for art history when the perpetrators were caught, as they had disposed of the masterpieces with the rubbish.
The heist involved 5 pieces of modern art, valued at approximately 100 million pounds, which were too identifiable for the thieves to sell on without being found out. Sadly, one of the thieves panicked when he realised the French police were onto him, and threw all 5 paintings out to be shredded.
5) Rare historical photos
When an old office building in Westminster was turned into flats in 2006, the caretaker of the property found several old ledgers in a skip outside and took them home. Little did he know that they would contain never-seen-before photographs, some of which were more than a century old.
The pictures included original sepia images depicting the construction of London’s Tower Bridge at various stages, showing the iconic landmark in a totally different light than we see it today.
6) A vintage motorbike
Following an administrative error at a Liverpool storage lock-up in the 1960s, the owner of a 1939 Vincent HRD Series-A Rapide found his dismantled motorbike in a skip outside the garage.
Luckily, he was able to take the bike back. One of only 65 in existence, the rare model was later restored in 2007, and sold at auction for almost a quarter of a million pounds. This wouldn’t happen today, as hazardous items like tyres and engines are no longer allowed in hired skips.
7) Forgotten film reels
It’s not just one-of-a-kind historical documents that have been recovered from the rubbish. In 1996, the now defunct Park Lane Films production company had a clear-out, and the building manager grabbed several film cans from a skip outside. They ended up hidden in storage for over 15 years.
Finally, in 2013, the manager took a closer look at the films – realising that were extremely rare copies of two short films, starring the iconic British comedian Peter Sellers. Dearth of a Salesman and Insomnia is Good for You, both from 1957, were screened at the 2014 Southend Film Festival.
8) Stashes of cash
Last but not least, there have been several instances of people accidentally throwing away large amounts of money in skips. You’d think it would be hard to forget a bag full of cash, but that’s exactly what happened when a skip hire company found a whopping £7,000 inside a bin liner.
On another occasion in Ireland, a waste worker found almost €3,000 hidden inside a shoe. He returned it to the rightful owner, who had been clearing out her deceased father’s house.
Seen anything strange in a skip?
If you’ve ever discovered something odd in a skip that shouldn’t really be there, let us know! We’d love to hear more wacky stories of unusual objects abandoned in skips.
Just remember, whether you’re using skip hire in Chorley or anywhere else around the country, you should always follow the rules for the safe disposal of hazardous waste.
