Child’s bike returned by scavenger after mistaken for hard rubbish

A LITTLE girl’s prized bike has been returned by a red-faced but honest scavenger after it was mistaken for hard rubbish in Melbourne’s inner south.

AN HONEST hard rubbish scavenger returned a beloved bike to a heartbroken child when he realised it hadn’t been put out for collection.

The man saw flyers Anika, 11, had put up asking for her bike back and brought it to her with a profuse apology.

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Alex Cherney said his daughter, Anika, left her bike on the nature strip for a few minutes last week only to return and find it gone.

He said although his family had not put anything out for the hard rubbish collection, neighbours had and he feared someone had thought the bike was “rubbish”.

“It was Anika’s treasure and she’d had it less than a year,” he said.

Mr Cherney said the family put up flyers and a few days later a red-faced rubbish scavenger returned the bike apologising that they had assumed because it was on the nature-strip it was rubbish.

He said his Mentone Grammar school daughter was overwhelmed by the scavenger’s honesty.

“She was heartbroken and now she’s overjoyed; people really do do the right thing,” he said.

Mr Cherney has warned others not to leave treasured possessions outside during the hard waste collection just in case it could be mistaken as rubbish by a scavenger.

Kingston council chief executive officer John Nevins said there had been no complaints of theft during this year’s $1.3 million hard rubbish collection.

He said council expected to collect 4000 tonnes of hard rubbish over the next weeks to the end of October.

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