‘Bucket heid’ man recalls ‘shocking’ bin ordeal

A MAN who got his head stuck in a litter bin in Aberdeen city centre has spoken of his ordeal and revealed he was nicknamed “bucket heid” by some of the thousands of people who saw a picture of him online.

William Middleton, 53, of Aberdeen, was cut free from the bin by firefighters on Sunday in front of crowds of onlookers.

The moment was captured on camera by one passer-by and was ‘liked’ by almost 4,000 people on one Facebook page within 24 hours.

Mr Middleton said he was trying to reach his bonnet which had accidentally dropped inside the bin with some rubbish when he realised he was stuck.

He said: “I couldn’t get my heid out. It was shocking.

“I was looking for my hat. I was stuck for about 20 minutes.

“It was stinking.

“I’m now known as bucket heid.”

A passer-by called 999 and within minutes police, paramedics and fire crews arrived at the scene.

Grampian Fire and Rescue Service arrived at about 5.45pm and managed to cut Mr Middleton free within 15 minutes, using a high-powered saw.

Many sympathised with the man’s plight - leaving hundreds of messages of support on Facebook.

But Mr Middleton’s friends saw the funny side.

One woman - who did not want to be named - said: “I walked around the corner and saw his walking stick on the ground and his bum sticking out and said ‘that’s Willie’.

“Me and my pals tried to pull him out but his ears were stuck.

“He is a well-known public figure around here and now he’s even more famous.”

The photograph quickly spread across Facebook and Twitter.

A Scottish Ambulance Service spokesman said Mr Middleton was not injured but was taken to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary as a precaution.

He said: “He was released but needed to be checked over.”