Skip hire firm Whites is said to have received threats as a result of the prank by the builder who has since issued an apology
A Hull builder has apologised for placing a poster bearing Nazi iconography and Adolf Hitler’s face in the cab of a truck belonging to a city skip hire firm. Danny Platten, 63, admitted the “stupid, pathetic” prank which has reportedly caused family business Whites Skip Hire to receive threats after an image was posted on social media.
The incident happened at a property in the west Hull area which was being cleared out, with Mr Platten finding the inflammatory material before deciding to stick it to the front of the truck cab as it arrived. Images of the scene have circulated widely, leading to wrongful speculation about Whites.
Billy White, a director of Whites Skip Hire, said his firm has received multiple threats in the wake of the incident and he has reported the episode to Humberside Police. He told Hull Live: “I asked the builder why he did it and he said, ‘oh, I was only having a laugh’ but I said it isn’t funny, and it’s got our business name on the front. We’re going to go to the police and report it as a hate crime.”
The Whites truck was being driven by a Polish employee of the firm which employs between 40 and 50 people. Mr White added: “I told my dad that they’ll come and burn our yard down over that but the builder is not even taking it seriously.”
Mr Platten explained: “We took some rubbish, and that poster, and when the skip wagon turned up I just stuck it on the window for a laugh. It couldn’t have been there for more than 30 seconds and we took it off and chucked it in the cab to get taken away. That’s all it was and it’s all out of proportion for a silly practical joke.
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He added: “I didn’t know the driver was Polish. It was a laugh and joke, and I said sorry and that was it. That’s how ignorant about it I am – I don’t know much about it myself. I’m just a builder. I’ve picked it up, stuck it on for a laugh having a mess about and it’s a joke with builders.
“I do apologise if it’s offended anybody over a stupid, pathetic joke that only took 30 seconds. I apologise to the person who took the photograph and I would explain to them personally that it was totally innocent.”