Earlier this month Ms. Fleur Bateman unwittingly left her computer logged into eBay. In her absence, her five-year-old son seized the opportunity to do what any of us might have- throw down a bid on a beat up truck.

Days later, Ms. Bateman was surprised to learn she had won herself a garbage truck (or "bin lorry" in British vernacular) for £3,500.

Sounds like a pretty smashing deal... the cheapest one I could find on eBay.co.uk right now is closer to £10,000. But Ms. Bateman still wasn't feeling it.

She told ; "I had to beg them to retract my bid when I was congratulated on my win on the site. I can laugh about it now but at the time I was so shocked and angry."

So apparently the seller was kind enough to let it slide. I guess not all English vehicle salesmen are as hardcore as Mr. Mike Brewer!

Though of course the seller was right to show some understanding. William is described as "mildly autistic," apparently he's "obsessed with rubbish" and the vehicles used in its collection. His mum told ; "We went on holiday and he opened a stranger's bin and checked it, saying, 'You've got this in the wrong bin'."

At least he picked a constructive activity to focus on.

Ms. Bateman had so much trouble finding children's books about garbage that she up and wrote her own, which is is currently getting picked up by British bookstore chain WH Smith.

Her story, called "Burt The Bin Man," follows the adventures of a garbage collector and the anthropomorphic vehicles he operates. Cute!

Image: /Flickr