Homeless UK gnomes to be culled
Workers at a waste disposal site have been ordered to “cull” a growing collection of unwanted garden gnomes amid an apparent downturn in the ornaments’ popularity in the UK.
The operators of the Lifford Lane tip in Kings Norton, Birmingham, said a rolling replacement programme had been set up to ensure the gnome colony does not swell to unmanageable proportions.
Alf Hickey, of Tyseley Waste Disposal, which runs the refuse facility, admitted: “We have to cull them every few months because we get so many – we have to throw the old stuff away and keep the new stuff.”
The site’s current contingent of about 40 gnomes has been joined by pottery hens, ducks, chickens, owls, dogs and frogs.
The woodland creatures, which greet visitors at the entrance to the tip, are particularly popular with children whose parents use the site.
Mr Hickey added: “The public are the ones who have brought it about because they have brought the stuff in and they contribute to it.”
