Binmen refuse to remove pensioner's tree branch... because it was 5mm too thick

Furious Jack Hebblethwaite, 70, thought he would just pop the branch he had dug up into his general waste bin but eagle eyed collectors informed him it could not  be disposed of in this manner and refused to empty it.  

To add insult to injury, the pensioner from Leeds, was amazed to hear a multi-tonne bulk waste carrier would have to be called to take away the branch - which is only 35mm in diameter.

Furious: Pensioner Jack Hebblethwaite was told he could not put a small tree branch in his normal bin and would have to wait for the council to send out a dumper truck to collect it

He said: 'I was flabbergasted that such an innocuous item like  this would even be regarded.

'I am a placid person normally, but this really made my blood pressure rise.  This is when people of my age start to despair. 

'Can you imagine that a giant truck turns up at my house and I hand them this  branch?'

In frustration, Mr Hebblethwaite called the council for advice on disposing of the offending object, only to hear it was 5mm too thick to be allowed in the brown garden  waste bin.

He was further astonished when it was suggested he book a special collection  truck- usually reserved for the disposal of much larger items such as  wardrobes, mattresses and fridge-freezers.

Either that, or he could drive the three-mile round trip to his nearest waste  sorting site.  

Hitting back at the council's ludicrous rules, he said: 'Strictly speaking it could be regarded as commercial waste. What next? Are they going to charge me  to dispose of it as they do landscape gardeners?

'The sad thing is that there is no flexibility, no common sense and it brings  the whole matter into disrepute.'

The basic right to have waste collected dates back to 1875 when it was first outlined in the Public Health Act of the same year.

But there are fears that the Government is in the process of pushing through  new rules which could challenge this.  

Environment Minister Phil Woolas recently amended Section 46 of the  Environmental Protection Act 1990 so it now reads that a local authority is not obliged to collect household wast that breaks its rules.

If approved the amendment would make it legal for a council to refuse collection of an individual's rubbish at its will, say critics.

'It is unbelievable,' said Mr Hebblethwaite. 'What has happened at my home seems to be part of a bigger picture that gives councils even more reasons to not do their job.'

The brown bin collection was introduced in Leeds in 2006 and is today operating  at more than 100,000 properties.  

A city council spokesman said: 'There are rules in place covering the size  of garden waste material that can be placed in a brown bin.'

'In the case of things like small branches and twigs, they must not be thicker than 3cm. So the advice given to Mr Hebblethwaite by our staff was correct.'