Even by Croydon’s standards as the “fly-tip capital of London”, this latest example excels all previous dumps.
Fridge magnet: the dump spotted in the Norwood Junction underpass has not, yet, attracted other rubbish
A discarded fridge had been left in the foot tunnel beneath the platforms of Norwood Junction railway station, just by the stairs up to Platform 4.
But just how did it get there?
The achievement of getting it there was greeted with disbelief by South Norwood locals on social media, with one even asking if it was another art installation by Banksy.
There was an average of more than 1,000 fly-tips reported every week around Croydon last year, according to official figures published in February – at a time when the Croydon Council had no enforcement staff. The data published by DEFRA, the environment department, made Croydon officially the worst place in the country for fly-tipping.
The Norwood Junction fridge just adds to those sorry statistics.
But it has also raised an important question: how did it get there?
The fridge has ended up in the station’s pedestrian underpass, which can only be reached from the street by passing through (or over?) the station ticket barriers and down a flight of steps. Unless, of course, someone brought the fridge to Norwood Junction by train…
“So many questions,” one local posted on social media, describing it as “peak fly-tipping”.
There is a chance, of course, that the fridge fly-tipper might have been picked up on the station’s fly-tip.
There’s next to no chance that Croydon Council will be taking any action over the incident, however. Rubbish contractors Veolia will no doubt decline the opportunity of clearing another fly-tip because the fridge “is on private property”.
Read more: Campaigners accuse council of ‘misinformation’ over fly-tips
Read more: Addiscombe fly-tip festering on Hermitage Lane for whole year
Read more: Croydon has worst fly-tipping record in whole of England
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ROTTEN BOROUGH AWARDS: In January 2026, Croydon was named among the country’s rottenest boroughs for an EIGHTH time in nine years, in Private Eye magazine’s annual round-up of civic cock-ups
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So much for “mayor” Perry’s “war on fly tipping” with all the photo opportunities which accompanied it as the election!
Brilliant photo opportunity for POVpicker and Mayor Perry to do another Insta post here. Actually , maybe not, as Croydon elections have already finished.
That looks like a (tall) fridge freezer, so bigger than the fridges that those brothers were carrying in the London Marathon recently. They probably didn’t want to lug the fridges back to Redditch (Worcestershire) and, as they raised £500k for Alzheimer’s Research UK,o they should have been able to use some of that money to dispose of the fridges sensibly, but they may have heard of Croydon being a fly-tipping black spot, and come down on a train to Norwood Junction and hid the heavy white goods in the subway there before going home ?!
They have been working on the toilets and waiting room on Platform 4&5. The waiting room has now been reopened, but the old Ladies toilets have been worked on but the door has a staff only sign. Is the fridge for a new staff mess room in the old Ladies Toilets?
The Gents toilet has also been restored but has not been open.
The other toilets on platform 6 &7 are still boarded up.
Chill – it’ll be gone soon. But what has this got to do with Perry?
Perry’s in charge. He said there’s zero tolerance on fly-tipping.
It’s his job. He lied to get it.
Cold comfort
That’s enough lame fridge gags, Ed.