By Tim Binnall
In a fittingly weird update to the case of a mysterious individual who leaves a plate of peeled bananas at a street corner in a British town every month, the phantom managed to outwit those awaiting February's 'ritual' by depositing the fruit offerings a day early. The strange phenomenon unfolding in the community of Beeston made worldwide headlines at the start of the year when the media picked up on the peculiar story that has gripped residents for at least a year. With the phantom having established a pattern of placing the peeled bananas on the 2nd day of every month, many were wondering if the fruit would appear yet again this weekend or if the considerable attention on the case would cause the offerings to stop.
According to a local media report, among those intrigued by what would happen on Sunday were a pair of British YouTubers, Luke Roberts and Jai Brewer, who traveled to Beeston over the weekend in the hopes of cracking the case. After arriving in the town on Saturday evening and scoping out the spot where the fruit was expected to appear, the duo decamped to their hotel room with the intention of returning to the location in the early morning hours when they expected the phantom might strike. However, their plan was soon upended when they learned that the bananas were spotted on the street corner approximately 90 minutes before midnight which, Brewer conceded, "kind of threw everybody off."
The pair quickly sped over to the scene and found the plate of peeled fruit that had presumably been left behind by the phantom, who was likely pleased at having pulled off the feat without getting caught. That said, in a testament to how deeply the duo have gone down the proverbial rabbit hole, their initial response was to question if the offering was genuine before agreeing that they were bona fide Beeston mystery bananas. Interestingly, when the YouTubers returned to the location the following day, the offering was already gone, though it is uncertain who removed the fruity clue.
As for who is behind the bananas, the pair indicated that they have a suspect in their sights, but were admittedly foiled in their pursuit of the phantom this past weekend. "We've got a name, but unfortunately, we haven't been able to catch them," Brewer revealed, "all we need is the body now and we've completed the puzzle." One imagines that the duo will be back in Beeston around this time next month for another attempt at solving the mystery. That said, the phantom undoubtedly knows this as well and is already plotting the next move in what has now turned into a bizarre case of cat and mouse.