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'Why does a plate of bananas appear on our street?'

BBC A plate of bananas sits on a street in Nottingham with a house in the background. BBC
A plate of 16 to 20 peeled bananas appear on a street in Beeston once a month

Cartoons and comedy shows have taught us to avoid banana skins as a slip-and-fall hazard.

But what do you do when you encounter a plate full of the fruit, unpeeled?

That is exactly what is happening in a small Nottinghamshire town - and no-one knows the reason behind the "strange" tradition.

The mystery plate appears on the second day of every month on the corner of Abbey Road and Wensor Avenue in Beeston, and residents say it has been a constant in their lives for more than a year.

"I've asked around in the local community but no-one really knows and no-one can tell me anything," said resident Clare Short.

"[The bananas] appear early in the morning on the second of the month, I see them on my way to work. I'd love to know the answers to this."

A woman in a navy coat stands holding a sign that reads "respectfully, no more bananas"
Local resident Clare Short says she put up a sign to prevent the bananas coming back

The bananas have prompted a mixed reaction, with some neighbours saying the bananas go mouldy and their street does not look that a-peeling any more.

Ms Short tried to take the matter into her own hands.

She had put up a sign where the plate is to deter the yellow fruit being left there again.

On 2 January, however, another plate of peeled bananas appeared at the usual spot.

"I've come to take the signs down because I don't really want to make it like a feud, I don't want it to become a big thing," she said.

"I think it's a special thing for [someone] and I wish them well.

"But if they could come back and clean up the mess a few days later that would be lovely.

"I'm going to keep an eye on it and keep cleaning up the mess."

'It's gross'

Other neighbours would rather see the bananas gone for good.

"I live nearby and they're very regularly here," says 26-year-old Josh Trentham. "They are very annoying, I have no idea why they're here."

Jill Dowling added: "It's so strange and disgusting, someone puts it there, and I don't like it."

Resident Janet Hutchinson, 81, said: "The bananas are clearly just bought, and the wildlife doesn't touch them. They go mouldy - it's gross."

Another puzzled resident wondered if the gesture was perhaps a custom elsewhere.

Adam Castle, 34, said: "What is this thing? I don't know if it's a cultural thing or what, it's strange. I've never heard or seen it anywhere else I've lived."

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