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The Guardian
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
The fly-tipped sofa: how an abandoned couch changed a small village
A sofa was dumped in the middle of Lydbrook, a village in Gloucestershire, and every time Alex Elton-Wall walked past it he found himself smiling. While he's clear he doesn't condone fly-tipping, the cream-coloured two-seater looked 'really funny,' he says, perched on a patch of waste ground, next to a road, the woods as a scenic backdrop. As an amateur photographer, he spotted an opportunity. At the start of April, a few weeks after the sofa first appeared, the 49-year-old office worker posted a message in the village Facebook group asking for people to come and pose on the sofa so he could take their portraits. That day, he says, 'I ended up taking pictures from 10 in the morning until eight o'clock that night. People were just having so much fun, and it was so bizarre what we were doing.' Since then, Elton-Wall has staged more photoshoots and taken pictures of more than 170 locals with the sofa – and even a few animals, including a tortoise, a chicken and a horse. His photoshoots have made the sofa a surprise tourist attraction, rising up the Tripadvisor rankings to become the second-best thing to do in Lydbrook (pipped only by an alpaca farm). It even has its own dedicated Facebook page, called Lydbrook Lounge, where visitors post their own pictures. 'It's become a real community and feelgood thing,' says Elton-Wall. 'You know, life's tough, the world's pretty crazy at the moment, but people have really embraced this.' Items started appearing mysteriously around the sofa; a side table with a plant pot, a hat stand, a lampshade, a rug, a coffee table and a magazine rack. Elton-Wall thinks this could be the work of a secret local artist, nicknamed Tumpsy, who was responsible for a spate of googly eyes that cropped up around the village a few years ago. 'I kept meaning to stop taking photos, but people kept asking me,' says Elton-Wall. He's taken photos of the kids' football team, staff from the local cafe serving afternoon tea, and the owner of the local timber yard posing with chainsaws – all with the sofa. 'I've got pictures of everything from kids jumping up and down on the sofa to a couple of blokes drinking pints, who were kidnapped from the local pub.' Elton-Wall, who has lived in Lydbrook for nearly 20 years, has decided to create a photo book, which he will sell at the village fete in the summer to raise money for playground equipment. 'It was just this amazing opportunity to capture a snapshot in time of the community,' he says. Yesterday, without warning, the project ended. The sofa, and all the items surrounding it, suddenly disappeared. Elton-Wall has no idea who took them and says he has mixed emotions. 'At the end of the day, fly-tipping is not to be condoned. People in the village were always clear that it would be disposed of properly.' Looking at all the comments online, mourning the loss of the sofa, one stood out to him: 'Don't be sad it's over, be glad it happened.'
Metro
27-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
Hundreds flock to abandoned sofa after it becomes village's biggest tourist attraction
Hundreds of people have flocked to have their photo taken on a dumped sofa in the middle of a village after it became an unlikely tourist attraction. Since finding fame, the two-seater settee has been mentioned on TripAdvisor as something to do in Lydbrook, Gloucestershire and has a dedicated Facebook page. It was dumped on a wasteland in the middle of the village in early April. Photographer Alex Elton-Wall thought it presented an opportunity to document the local community and has since taken more than 150 portraits of nearby residents sitting on it. He said: 'A piece of rubbish turned into something fun – as an amateur documentary photographer it has been a great opportunity to photograph the local community. 'It is hard to take pictures of families these days and it has been an amazing opportunity to take pictures of the community. 'As people came down they made the sofa their own – people came with their families, their dogs, the landlord and landlady of the pubs came down as well.' The sofa's Facebook page is called Lydbrook Lounge and also features visitors posting photographs of themselves. The sofa caught his eye when he drove past it, inspiring him to take photos with the out-of-place furniture. He said: 'I kept driving past the sofa and thinking it looked really cool – on one hand it looked sad but on the other hand looked quite homely and familiar. 'On Sunday the 13th of April I woke up and the weather forecast for the next week was not that good so I decided to do something about it.' Call out for 'brave enough' people – and animals He then put a call out on social media for anyone 'brave enough' to have their photos taken on the sofa – and the response was keen. Alex ended up staying at the spot all day taking pictures – shooting around 40 pictures of different people. The idea was so popular that Alex had set up photoshoots almost every day last week to snap pictures of than 150 local people, along with lots of dogs, a chicken, a tortoise and a horse. The village pub's landlord brought along beer barrels to the unique photo opportunity. Now, the results will appear in a photobook, which will be revealed in July, with money from the proceeds used to pay for playground equipment in the village. Alex said: 'It has mainly been locals, families with children, people walking their dogs. 'I'm taking a photo of the village football team, I've taken pics of local musicians, local businesses and I have taken pics of the guys who work in the local village. 'Everyone has their own little angle. It is going to make a really nice book of photos.' The sofa craze inspired the village's very own 'Banksy' to emerge. More items started appearing next to the sofa as the week progressed – including a side table, a plant in a pot, a lampshade, a coffee table, a magazine rack and a rug. The community believes the additions are the work of village's secret artist Tumpsy – who was behind a rash of googly eyes popping up all over the village a couple of years ago. 'It took this life of its own,' added Alex. But, the sofa will not delight residents forever. Alex explained that locals are aware the sofa's life will eventually come to an end as the item has been fly-tipped. Alex said: 'It won't stay there forever. Locals will make sure it is properly disposed of. 'All good things come to an end.' check our news page.
Metro
27-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
Hundreds flock to dumped sofa after it becomes unlikely tourist attraction
Hundreds of people have flocked to have their photo taken on a dumped sofa in the middle of a village after it became an unlikely tourist attraction. Since finding fame, the two-seater settee has been mentioned on TripAdvisor as something to do in Lydbrook, Gloucestershire and has a dedicated Facebook page. It was dumped on a wasteland in the middle of the village in early April. Photographer Alex Elton-Wall thought it presented an opportunity to document the local community and has since taken more than 150 portraits of nearby residents sitting on it. He said: 'A piece of rubbish turned into something fun – as an amateur documentary photographer it has been a great opportunity to photograph the local community. 'It is hard to take pictures of families these days and it has been an amazing opportunity to take pictures of the community. 'As people came down they made the sofa their own – people came with their families, their dogs, the landlord and landlady of the pubs came down as well.' The sofa's Facebook page is called Lydbrook Lounge and also features visitors posting photographs of themselves. The sofa caught his eye when he drove past it, inspiring him to take photos with the out-of-place furniture. He said: 'I kept driving past the sofa and thinking it looked really cool – on one hand it looked sad but on the other hand looked quite homely and familiar. 'On Sunday the 13th of April I woke up and the weather forecast for the next week was not that good so I decided to do something about it.' He then put a call out on social media for anyone 'brave enough' to have their photos taken on the sofa – and the response was keen. Alex ended up staying at the spot all day taking pictures – shooting around 40 pictures of different people. The idea was so popular that Alex had set up photoshoots almost every day last week to snap pictures of than 150 local people, along with lots of dogs, a chicken, a tortoise and a horse. The village pub's landlord brought along beer barrels to the unique photo opportunity. Now, the results will appear in a photobook, which will be revealed in July, with money from the proceeds used to pay for playground equipment in the village. Alex said: 'It has mainly been locals, families with children, people walking their dogs. 'I'm taking a photo of the village football team, I've taken pics of local musicians, local businesses and I have taken pics of the guys who work in the local village. 'Everyone has their own little angle. It is going to make a really nice book of photos.' The sofa craze inspired the village's very own 'Banksy' to emerge. More items started appearing next to the sofa as the week progressed – including a side table, a plant in a pot, a lampshade, a coffee table, a magazine rack and a rug. The community believes the additions are the work of village's secret artist Tumpsy – who was behind a rash of googly eyes popping up all over the village a couple of years ago. 'It took this life of its own,' added Alex. More Trending But, the sofa will not delight residents forever. Alex explained that locals are aware the sofa's life will eventually come to an end as the item has been fly-tipped. Alex said: 'It won't stay there forever. Locals will make sure it is properly disposed of. 'All good things come to an end.' Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: Valerie the sausage dog 'fit and well' after 529 days alone in Australian bush MORE: Identical twins who speak in perfect unison witness crime and the interview haunts us MORE: Mystery as tourist finds alien-like creature which 'looks like a condom' on beach
BBC News
23-04-2025
- BBC News
Fly-tipped sofa becomes unlikely local attraction
A sofa dumped by the side of a road in Gloucestershire has become an unlikely tourist two-seater settee was abandoned on wasteland in the middle of the village of Lydbrook at the beginning of 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 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 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 week, the sofa was joined by a bedsit's worth of 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."
