Halloween: Ghoulish gourds gone before fright night

A food waste collector who cleared carved pumpkins from doorsteps before Halloween has been criticised by residents.

Jack O'Lanterns from homes in the Raynes Park area of Merton, south-west London, were removed by waste management company Veolia.

Parents said having the squashes taken before 31 October was "not really in the spirit of things".

Veolia said the worker had been briefed to ensure it did not happen again.

Jessica Sutherland told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) she could not see many pumpkins left in her neighbourhood.

"My five-year old, Georgie, was very upset about it this morning. We carved a couple of pumpkins together," she said.

"There were loads of pumpkins out and loads of people have had them taken. It just feels very wrong to do that to kids on Halloween."

She added: "It's not like any of the pumpkins were in the bin, they were all displayed at the front of the houses or on the porch.

"Ours were placed on our bin store which is set behind the road, so they must have leaned in to get them.

"If you weren't sure on the date, wouldn't you ask your colleague if Halloween had passed?"

A spokesperson for Veolia has apologised for the incident.

In a statement, they said: "We regret that a member of our food waste collection crew incorrectly removed pumpkins from households.

"The operative has been informed of his mistake and briefed to ensure this does not happen again."

A Merton Council spokesperson said: "We're very sorry to hear about this and hope this mistake by one of our contractor's operatives did not spoil Halloween for any of our residents.

"Veolia has assured us they have dealt with the matter to ensure this does not happen again."

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