This is the obstructed fire exit to the right of the main entrance to Sainsbury's in Walthamstow High Street. Someone wrenched the railing off its wall mounting behind the vertical pole, dragged it to the right (you can see the mark on the brickwork), then gave up and left it wedged by the fire exit. Maybe it was just mindless vandalism. Or maybe they were trying to steal a bike and failed. Because there are only two cycle stands by the Sainsbury's entrance, it was common to see cyclists using this railing to lock their bikes.
You would expect a firm like Sainsbury's to require the managers of their stores to have the fire exits checked on a daily basis. You would expect someone from the store to notice that the fire exit leading to the High Street was obstructed. But nobody did. For eight days.
