An encounter with Jesus, I'd imagine.

Actually, my guess is that a pissed student either nicked them and used them for a while before discarding them, or a pissed student was returning from some sort of party and discarded them.

My aunt was partially disabled and used a mobility scooter thing to go down to her local shops and then use crutches to get in and out and around each shop. She insisted on transporting the crutches precariously balanced on the back of the scooter, and they were always falling off. As she was also rather deaf but refused to wear her hearing aid, she rarely heard the resultant clatter and would continue her merry way. If someone was with her, or there was a kindly passer by within range, it wasn't a problem, but all too frequently she would either have to retrace her path or call someone to go and look for them. She died about 5 years ago but I still miss the bolshie old bat. Seeing an abandoned pair of crutches like that reminded me of her :-)

Those aren't crutches, though its an easy mistake to make...what you have there is a very excited mating pair of hermaphrodite clutchbottomed poleworms.

Guy was getting worker's compensation benefits for some pretend injury. He walked around wearing crutches just in case an inspector was watching.

As he checked his mail whilst walking away from his house, he opened a letter to see his compensation had been terminated, so he ditched the crutches in a fit of rage, and headed to the nearest pub.

Alien abduction.

Or the Rapture.

If you subsidise something, you get more of it.

Reminding ourselves of that rule, these crutches, it is obvious, are the product of a welfare statist trying to drum up business by encouraging use of "freely"-provided crutches.

Perhaps this is a pilot scheme from Boris for those who are unable to ride the bicyles?

I'm going with alien abduction as it's well known that crutches are all nonsense in zero gravity.

However there could be a crutch-loaner scheme similar to the yellow bike program that was popular several years back. This is where crutches are randomly distributed through out the metropolitan area and people who needed them could pick up a pair of crutches, travel to their destination, and then leave them outside for some other person whom needed crutches. The only flaw here being that those crutches are definitely not painted yellow.

Was the present (or recent) wind coming towards you as you took the picture? They look to me like they were leaned up against the railing side by side and blew down. For example the tips are appropriately spaced on the pavement and the handles (heaviest side) are both towards the railing. What was the building? Is it a place someone might have been departing from and getting into a car? Many people who are in wheel chairs for longer distances carry those kind of crutches (I've heard them called Canadian crutches over here) for short distances (ie, Janet's aunt).

Having assisted with countless wheel chair transfers over the years, both for family members and as an accessibility volunteer for sports, I can only shake my head at things I and others have left behind. Or on the roof of the car which also seem to be a favorite place for leaving things like purses, books, coffee, etc.

My vote is that on reaching their destination, there was much head scratching and finger pointing, accompanied by "but I thought you . . . " If I find things like crutches or walkers or wheelchair 'pedals' or other durable medical equipment, I might try figuring out what an appropriate lost and found for the likely building would be and then leave them there in anticipation of a phone call asking after them.

Although I do kind of like Charlie's theories.

I'm relieved. There was no obvious explanation that I missed.

I like the "fell off an old-person-mobile" story best.

The thing is, if any health professionals got involved, I think they'd not leave the crutches just lying there on the pavement. This looks health amateur to me.

But basically I'm still baffled.

I am going with Hmm's theory

Oh, alien abduction. Who would consider anything else.

Alien abduction. Let's face it, Pimlico/Westminster is full of them.

I shall be prosaic. Is it near a hospital Brian?

About 15 years ago my then girlfriend bust an ankle and got cruttches from A&E (central London - forget where). Now when she got a bit better she returned them and was greeted by staff with amazement because practically nobody ever does. So they all end-up somewhere just dumped.

Either that or it was aliens.

OK, folks here's a puzzler for you. One day I walk into work and this goes past an area of grassed land belonging to the council (this was in Leeds) and it's rather long grass. By the time I return it's all been cut apart form one patch roughly 2m x 1m. Now I know why this oddness happened and I have left out the explanation. Can you guess?

@NickM: Was there someone on said patch lying resting after a night of heavy drinking who refused to move for the council mower?

There was a big rock/metal object in there that the mower couldn't go over?

The fact they are abandoned is because of the throw away nature of the bottomless well of taxpayer funding that is the wonderful NHS, that's your tax on the pavement not contributing to the health of the proles, that is.

Mid had obviously read his A.C. Doyle.

Well Nick, it's clearly an instance of this(Link).

Crop circle. Duh!

Umm, wouldn't that be an inverse crop circle, Antoine?

The invisible man is wasted (again).

Catherine wins the cigar! There was a large drunk sleeping like a (very snorey) baby and a council ride-on mower just mowed around him.

They're left behind after a run-in with the geriatric mob.

Leave the crutches. Take the cannoli.

Geriatric mob is the worst kind...

If this was in Westminster it can't have been long before the crutches were ticketed for illegal parking.

Disappearing into the distance you can see the easily recognised figure of the Westminster Unipede Bandit, obviously surprised in the commission of a robbery & currently hopping it.

It was, as stated earlier, the Rapture - the end-of-times bible-based prediction that Gawd will come down to the earth and gather together everyone who is truly a part of His Church and then blow this pop-joint for good.

But, damn. One? He took one guy? The Human Club now has seven billion members, with more coming every day, and He could only find ONE church member who he thought deserved a trip to the Home Office?

It's like Gawd drives a two-seater Yugo or something. "Sorry, we're full up! I'll try to borrow my mom's Escalade for the next Rapture, though, so there's still hope for the rest of you!

And so this poor schmuck is sitting in heaven right now, with Gawd in the other plastic chair, and nobody else is anywhere in sight, and he's just now catching on that Gawd isn't big on casual chit-chat, or singing, or joy . . . .

Possibly dropped while swinging through the air during an audition for Tarzan(Link)?

What actually happened is that a disabled person tripped over the very uneven paving slabs that are visible in the picture, fell to the ground, and has been taken to hospital.

However, the ambulance crew had not received the appropriate Health and Safety training for the loading of crutches into their vehicle, so were forced to leave them behind.

I love it when atheists are not taking his/her/its name in vain:-)

JESUS DID THIS!!!

Sure, blame the Jews again...

Let's not give the dues any unjew credit, people! After all, whilst Jesus was born Jewish, He is now an honorary Gentile.
So we should blame the Gentiles, instead!
Maybe it was a mad scientist, who has perfected a disintegrator-ray-gun, and tested it on a nearby pensioner. That makes more sense.

It is a fantastically thought-provoking photograph. I am reminded of the quote from the late US Libertarian Harry Browne, who said, "Government breaks your legs, then gives you crutches and says, 'see, without us, you couldn't walk!'" In that case, perhaps the photo is evidence of the birth of a new libertarian.

Thank you, Alisa, for your kind permission to blame the Jews. We will avail ourselves of this blank cheque at a later date.