The Bank of Dave hero has called for the return of his bin after he watched council workers toss it in their truck and hastily drive away.
Dave Fishwick MBE, 55, a Netflix star famed for setting up his own highly successful bank following the financial crash in 2008, shared CCTV footage of two rubbish collectors who appeared to steal his bin on Thursday in Ribble Valley, near Burnley.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Mr Fishwick said his wife Nicky sent the video to him while he was at work and heard the two workers shout ‘go, go’ as they fled.
He said: ‘All I could see was this guy that sort of grabbed it and threw the whole thing in the back. You can hear in the video, he says something like “go, go” and I thought how bizarre.’
The ‘Bank of Dave’, as it was affectionately known, was founded by Mr Fishwick and operated from his hometown of Burnley in Lancashire. It loans money to individuals and businesses who found themselves turned away by the High Street banks in their hour of need.
The community bank operates not for profit, with all surplus money going to good causes – and one that is going strong today.
From his desk at his small headquarters in Burnley town centre, Dave has loaned more than £30million to thousands of locals to cover everything, from funeral expenses to IVF.
The feel-good story caught the eye of Hollywood scriptwriters, who turned Mr Fishwick’s venture into a big-budget biopic that was released on Netflix in 2023.
Dave Fishwick MBE, 55, shared CCTV footage of two rubbish collectors who appeared to steal his bin on Thursday in Ribble Valley, near Burnley
Mr Fishwick said his wife Nicky sent the video to him while he was at work and heard the two workers shout ‘go, go’ as they fled (pictured)
Bond star Rory Kinnear played the eponymous hero, while Bridgerton’s Phoebe Dynevor took on the role of his fictional niece Alexandra, who is based on a composite of local characters.
The successful businessman posted the video of the alleged bin theft on X and received several warnings from his followers who said bin thefts are a common occurrence.
He warned people to be sure to properly destroy any items with confidential information like bank and hospital letters as bin bags can be a treasure trove for those seeking to steal ones data.
He said: ‘Whatever you put in your bin, make sure you shred it. Make sure you also shred the envelopes as well because I do a lot of programs around data protection and GDPR and data theft out of phones and things.
‘I really understand that side of things, so I make sure that I’m super careful with that.
‘Your bin has probably got a piece of your life in there that you don’t want anybody to be able to use against you, like data, bank account details, and things. You’ve got to be super careful.’
Mr Fishwick has pleaded for his bin back as he and his wife have been left dumbfounded by the ‘bizarre’ incident.
Mr Fishwick has pleaded for his bin back as he and his wife Nicky have been left dumbfounded by the ‘bizarre’ incident (Pictured together at the premiere of Netflix’s Bank of Dave)
Dave Fishwick (left) and Rory Kinnear (right), attended the world premiere of Netflix’s ‘Bank of Dave’ in Burnley, England in 2023
He said: ‘She just wants to know where the bin is; it’s unbelievable. Nicky is so down to earth, she just wants the bin back.
‘If somebody sees it, can they send it back or can they point it back in the direction of Burnley?’
The self-made multi-millionaire added: ‘I’ve never seen this before. It is just so bizarre. You don’t expect that from a council, do you? Have you ever?’
‘At the end of the day, it’s just a bin and it’s gone missing, but we’re going to need one.
‘We’re either going to have to go out tomorrow and buy one, or they’re going to drop one off, or we’re going to have to get half a dozen black bin bags, aren’t we.’
Ribble Valley council and Lancashire police have been contacted for comment.
