THIS WEEK IN 1994: Workers ferret out dust bin weasel

The cool customer was split seconds away from a crushing death when refuse collectors spotted his head poking out of a rubbish bag.

Workmen operating in the Anchorage Park area of Portsmouth acted swiftly to stop the grinding jaws of the dust bin cart.

Hero waste collector Wayne Husband leapt in to pluck the creature to safety and within seconds the cuddly creature was in his arms.

Contracts supervisor Jim Weir, who collected the polecat from the crew, said it had injured its leg but was otherwise all right.

He said: ‘It’s a beautiful-looking creature and seems quite friendly.

‘He was very lucky. If he had not been spotted then he would have been compressed with all the rubbish.’