Mary Beale, the bank worker captured on CCTV depositing a cat in a wheelie bin, defended her actions today by insisting that it was simply a prank. 'It was meant to be a laugh', she insisted earlier, 'I thought the cat would simply see the funny side and wriggle out. I really don't know what all the fuss is about. That's the trouble with cats....no sense of humour!'
Another Coventry resident who fails to see what all the fuss is about is unemployed labourer Kevin Grimeswood (59), who has been living in a wheelie bin for the last 21 years.
'It's bloody typical', he said earlier today. 'A cat, not three streets from here gets stuck in a wheelie bin for a paltry 15 hours and people are up in arms on the internet. I was evicted from my council house in 1989 and have been living in a wheelie bin since then and no-one gives a stuff!'
Mr Grimeswood's residence is a basic, but deceptively spacious 240 litre wheelie bin, custom painted in a striking pillar-box red colour.
'The one good thing is that I can move it about and so I can wake up to a different view every morning', he said cheerfully.
Mr Grimeswood has many anecdotes relating to his life in a bin, such as the times he's ended up in the back of a dust-bin cart, the times his bin has been set alight and the lucky escape he had when his bin was wheeled onto the nearby railway track by local yobs.
'I could write a book about my experiences', he concluded,'if only I could write!'
