Rubbish collector's Christmas surprise

He drives a truck not a sleigh and wears a hi-vis vest rather than a red coat, but for Alexis Goatley Terrence the rubbish truck driver is as good as Santa.

Alexis, 5, has been obsessed with the rubbish truck since he was a baby.

He makes sure to stand outside on the berm of his Mt Albert home every Thursday morning to watch it drive past so he can watch and wave.

Last Thursday Alexis got to meet his hero after his dad Richard got in touch with Auckland Council to ask them how they could send him a Christmas present.

"With Christmas approaching Alexis suggested we appreciate the rubbish man and we thought that was a great idea because we live in a beautiful city and part of keeping it beautiful is the rubbish," he told the Herald.

"It's probably a pretty thankless task."

Alexis had been joined in his rubbish truck fandom by his younger brother Xavier, who is three and a half.

They boys loved trucks and were fascinated by the mechanical arm that came out and grabbed people's bins.

"They now have a little sister, Maya, who will probably get into it too," Goatley joked.

The boys gave Terrence some craft beer, chocolate and coffee - "a little basket of things to be enjoyed maybe when not driving a truck".

In a surprising twist, Terrence brought along gifts for Alexis and Xavier, a beach bag with a towel and sunscreen which they loved, Goatley said.

"It's been really lovely,' he said.

"It's nice to acknowledge people who make our lives better."

Xavier, 3, (left) and Alexis Goatley, 5, are all smiles in their Waste Management caps after exchanging early Christmas gifts with Terrence the rubbish truck driver. Photo / Supplied

Alexis and Xavier aren't alone in their love of rubbish trucks.

In April the Herald spoke to the father of Alex Brown, whose open letter to 'the rubbish truck guy' went viral.

Aaron Brown's 2-year-old also loved to watch the truck from their home, and Brown thanked the driver for always smiling and waving when he saw them.

"You could just carry on oblivious to a man and his son in the driveway but no. What you do is take a small moment of your time and wave and say out the window 'hi boy!' with the biggest smile," he wrote.