It started with a missing set of toy bins, and ended with a garbage truck pulling up at a nursery.

Three-year-old Arthur, from Middlesbrough, got a surprise visit from local trash collector Brandon Osborne after his toy bins were stolen from the family driveway.

Mr Osborne, a waste and recycling officer, visited Kader Primary School on his day off to give Arthur a new set of bins and show pupils his wagon.

Arthur’s mum, Rosie, had appealed for help on social media after the toys were taken.

She said of the school visit: “It was a lovely surprise for Arthur and he was absolutely over the moon.”

Acklam ward councillor Luke Henman spotted Rosie’s post online and worked with council staff to arrange the surprise.

Rosie said her son’s obsession with trash collection began when he was a toddler and he “loved” watching their bins being emptied, which led the family to get him a miniature set of his own.

“There’s been times when the binmen have gone past, he’s had his own wheelie bin, and we’ve walked down the street with them while they’ve collected the other bins,” she said.

But one day the bins disappeared from the front of their home, even though they were labelled with stickers carrying Arthur’s name.

“We told him the binmen had borrowed them and were going to bring them back, but he was asking every day where they were,” she said.

Rosie said she was “shocked” by the visit to his nursery.

“Everyone rallied together, it was just really nice to see his face and Brandon was just brilliant with the kids,” she said.

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