Tower of London poppies: moment 'courier throws poppy parcel 25 ft over fence'

 
Poppy lob: the man reviewed the CCTV after finding the package (Pic: YouTube)
Robin de Peyer27 November 2014

Footage allegedly showing the moment a courier lobbed a ceramic Tower of London poppy over a garden fence has emerged online.

The CCTV is said to show the delivery person - believed to be from courier firm Yodel - throwing the fragile item after not finding an entrance into the property.

Stuart Spinks told how he looked at his own CCTV after finding the poppy 25 feet from the fence by his front door - despite the locked gates.

The Tower of London's Blood Swept Lands And Seas Of Red display which featured 888,246 poppies.

Hundreds of thousands of people paid £25 per poppy for the memorial to the lives lost in the First World War.

Watch the video from 2.25

And delivery firm Yodel - which is delivering the goods - has been criticised by customers who said poppies arrived at their homes broken.

Mr Spinks told the BBC's Today programme: "When I arrived home, I could not understand how it was at the door because the gates to our property are locked.

"We have CCTV so I reviewed it and, about 20 minutes before I arrived home, the driver was there and he tried consistently to open the gate.

He went on to claim that "you clearly see him throw the box towards the front door. He could have dropped it over the gate but he actually threw it - the distance of about seven metres."

Other customers said petals from the poppies had become unattached.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">Bit sad that my poppy has been delivered with a broken petal <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/yodel?src=hash" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-138501-https://twitter.com/hashtag/yodel?src=hash" data-vars-event-id="c23">#yodel</a> :(— SurreyHillbilly (@surreyhillbilly) <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/surreyhillbilly/status/537959525425610752" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-138501-https://twitter.com/surreyhillbilly/status/537959525425610752" data-vars-event-id="c23">November 27, 2014</a>

One tweeted a picture of the poppy with the caption: "Really pleased my poppies arriving then very disappointed one was broken."

Another posted: "Bit sad that my poppy has been delivered with a broken petal."

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck">Really pleased my poppies arriving then very disappointed one was broken <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://www.awin1.com/awclick.php?mid=9&amp;id=222025&amp;p=http://t.co/lJCOuBvjDq" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-138501-http://t.co/lJCOuBvjDq" data-vars-event-id="c23">pic.twitter.com/lJCOuBvjDq</a>— karalyn (@karalynanne) <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/karalynanne/status/534625574204235776" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-138501-https://twitter.com/karalynanne/status/534625574204235776" data-vars-event-id="c23">November 18, 2014</a>

And another tweeted: "Fail: poppy deliveries are to be with #Yodel... Don't expect to get it, or to get it undamaged."

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">Fail: <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/poppy?src=hash" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-138501-https://twitter.com/hashtag/poppy?src=hash" data-vars-event-id="c23">#poppy</a> deliveries are to be with <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Yodel?src=hash" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-138501-https://twitter.com/hashtag/Yodel?src=hash" data-vars-event-id="c23">#Yodel</a>... Don't expect to get it, or to get it undamaged.— Dave Stow (@davestow1) <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/davestow1/status/537890327341056000" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-138501-https://twitter.com/davestow1/status/537890327341056000" data-vars-event-id="c23">November 27, 2014</a>

The stunning display was taken apart by an army of volunteers after around five million people visited it in the run-up to Remembrance Day.

Yodel's executive Chairman Dick Stead said his firm were "horrified" that the footage is said to involve Yodel.

It’s a great privilege to be delivering all 888,246 poppies and we have briefed our staff to act with special care," he said.

"If anyone is found to have not treated the parcels with the respect they require, they will face disciplinary action.

The Tower of London poppy display - in pictures

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"In the case of the YouTube footage showing a delivery driver throwing a poppy, we are immensely relieved to hear the poppy was undamaged but have taken the incident very seriously and have suspended the courier with immediate effect.

"We are very sorry to hear that a small number of poppies have arrived broken and there is a process in place to provide replacements where this occurs."

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