Fly-tipped sofa becomes unlikely local attraction
A sofa dumped by the side of a road in Gloucestershire has become an unlikely tourist attraction.The two-seater settee was abandoned on wasteland in the middle of the village of Lydbrook at the beginning of April.Despite fly-tipping being illegal and punishable by large fines or even prison time, more furniture has since been added and the site has become a popular resting spot.Local photographer Alex Elton-Wall has now taken the portraits of more than 140 nearby residents at the "homely" site.
"It was just the sofa," he said. "But then a coffee table, hatstand, lampshade and a potted plant turned up, so now it's the Lydbrook Lounge."Fly-tipping is illegal and so dumping waste in this way is a criminal offence. Anyone caught fly-tipping can receive an unlimited fine if prosecuted criminally, or up to five years in prison.
The beige floral sofa was left near traffic lights beside the main road through the village, with Mr Elton-Wall saying it is "very visible to everyone"."I know fly-tipping is bad but every time I drove through the village and went past it, it made me smile," he said."It looked so lonely but familiar and homely and I thought it's just crying out to have someone sit on it and have their portrait taken."
He appealed on social media to anyone "brave enough" to have their photograph taken sitting on the sofa."The response was just amazing, everybody embraced it," he said."Some bought props with them. The pub landlord bought some beer barrels and the woman who runs the cafe came with all the waitresses and was serving high tea."With photoshoots set up almost everyday last week, Mr Elton-Wall has photographed more than 140 local people, along with lots of dogs, a chicken, a tortoise and a horse.The results will be appear in a photobook, which will be sold to raise money for playground equipment.
The once "lonely" sofa has now become a bit of tourist attraction and has its own listing on Tripadvisor, with scores of visitors posting photographs of themselves on the Lydbrook Lounge Facebook page.Last week, the sofa was joined by a bedsit's worth of furniture.The additions are thought to be the work of the village's secret artist Tumpsy, who was behind a rash of googly eyes popping up all over the village a couple of years ago."I think Tumpsy must have started bringing things to keep the sofa company," said Mr Elton-Wall."But I'd love to know who fly-tipped the sofa, [I] bet they're laughing and finding this all absolutely hilarious."
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