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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Hungry man rummaging in next doors bin

39 replies

Lemonlady22 · 03/04/2022 03:12

Awake at 2.30 am, bedroom light on, sat in bed (don't sleep well, long standing health condition) hear bins being rattled outside next door (they keep them on the pavement even though we have front gardens, sideways/drives) look outside expecting to see a fox trying to get in the bin, and see a man pulling stuff out, throwing rubbish about. I said 'what are you doing' he looked up, started to yell at me about being starving, looking for something to eat, benefits have stopped his money etc. He apologised for making a racket, and staggered off to the next house, looking in their garden waste bin... I felt a bit mean and could have given him food but was worried about opening door, in case he was drunk, drug user, homicidal maniac (was watching court tv). I thought of phoning the police, cos maybe they would offer him some food and a bed if arrested...but he had only bin rummaged, so now I sat at 3.10 am worried about him. What would you have done...anyone awake?

OP posts:
GranMarnie · 03/04/2022 12:43

A food bank is of no use to a homeless person as you need to have cooking facilities etc to make use of the items.

Original poster
Lemonlady22 · 03/04/2022 18:59

I don't shout

OP posts:
Original poster
Lemonlady22 · 03/04/2022 19:01

I didn't shout at him, I was about 20 feet away, I said 'what are you doing' he was banging about and shouted back. Hope he's ok

OP posts:
Original poster
Lemonlady22 · 03/04/2022 19:06

@iheartmybeachhut

I don't think I'd engage with offering food tbh as it might cause further interaction and you don't know this person. Probably harmless but you never can tell.
Just reminded me of the time I tried to help a man collapsed in the street....very drunk, had obviously been in a fight as his ear was ripped and bleeding, ambulance didn't want to know, police didn't want know...he came around, chatted to him for a bit, then he asked me on a dateConfused. I had to refuse, so up he got and staggered off!
OP posts:
Original poster
Lemonlady22 · 03/04/2022 19:15

Thanks for responses. I live on the outskirts of a large town, no kebab shops here...my road is a short cut through to a small estate that has had some problems regarding drugs and he was heading that way. He's human, whatever probs he has. No idea why some neighbours think it's OK to leave their manky bins out in the street tbh...laziness maybe. Neighbour was out this morning putting his rubbish back in the bin...no idea how he didn't hear the ruckus tbh.

OP posts:
LikeACatInTheDark · 03/04/2022 19:22

@Maternitynamechange

Diabetics can appear confused but usually during waking hours.

I wouldn’t do anything. Safety takes priority.

"Diabetics can appear confused but usually during waking hours" What? Grin Tell that to my 1am hypos...
HulaTallulah · 03/04/2022 19:22

He sounds like an alcoholic. It's sad, but really looking in general waste bins and garden waste in the early hours isn't a logical way to find food.

Georgeskitchen · 03/04/2022 19:36

There are soup kitchens and various charities, some church based who feed the homeless on a regular basis.
Most of the homeless know where to go to get help

iheartmybeachhut · 03/04/2022 20:54

Helping someone who has collasped in the street is somewhat different though. There are other people around to help, call police or ambulance.

fairylightsandwaxmelts · 03/04/2022 20:57

@junglejane66

TBH you'd need to be really hungry and really drunk to be rummaging through a bin on the way home from the pub. Is there a kebab shop nearby OP? Maybe direct him to that? Lower directions in a ziplock bag from an upper window with the aid of a fishing rod if necessary
This has to be one of the most bonkers posts I've ever read Grin
HTH1 · 03/04/2022 21:06

Speak to your neighbour and tell them what happened so they put their bin away in future.

EezyOozy · 03/04/2022 21:43

We used to live in the middle of a city with back lanes with large communal bins in them, it was horrible. Anyway, the bins were regularly emptied in the middle of the night, rubbish spread all over the shop, and it wasn't people looking for things to eat, it was people looking for things to sell. There were a lot of student houses and landlords that had regular clear outs and would chuck literally anything in the bin (they were like miniature skips) in a last minute clear n dump.

Murdoch1949 · 03/04/2022 22:45

It sounds as if he was drunk/on drugs rather than hungry. Very unusual for homeless to target private bins when they can go to supermarket or cafe bins. If you leave out food it will just go to waste or the foxes. If he were regularly visiting the bins, which I think unlikely, you could contact an outreach community worker to see if they could approach him. Homeless charities tell us not to give money to beggars, many are scammers, though doesn’t sound like this guy is. It’s better to get them off the streets than bunging a tenner and sandwich at them. The longterm homeless have drug/alcohol issues that make the provision of accommodation impossible until sober.

billyt · 04/04/2022 12:44

@jytdtysrht

This sounds very odd given that:

  1. most councils don’t allow food waste in the ordinary bin

  2. garden waste bins contain grass cuttings, not anything edible

  3. recycling bins contain, well, recycling

Our council are trialling food waste bins at the moment but until it's area wide we still can put any old crap in our general waste bins.
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