Burly binmen refuse to take away rubbish because it's too heavy ... so this 7st housewife did it herself

The same did not apply, however, to the four burly binmen on the council's 'green' collection run.

The three loaders and a driver left a note on the recycling sacks saying they had not been moved because they were too heavy.

Mia Cousins has no problem picking up bags of grass cuttings, but burly binmen on her local council's green collection run did

The council at Fareham, Hampshire, defended its binmen claiming they were acting within their rights under Health and Safety Executive rules on ' excessive manual handling risks'.

But Mrs Cousins, a 41-year-old widow and head of retail for the clothing chain Warehouse, said: 'I'm incensed by this. If I can carry the bin bags then so should they.

'Binmen are supposed to be quite strong. They're supposed to pick things up. They wouldn't be able to do their job if they were weedy.'

The note on the sacks complained that they weighed more than 45lb and contained soil including turf  -  a claim she denies.

'Everyone is encouraged to go green and recycle but they put up so many obstacles to stop you,' she added.

'Like most people I pay my council tax for services and I expect the council to keep their part of the bargain.'

Fareham Council spokesman Sue Mills said: 'The crew took the decision that the sacks were too heavy to lift and exercised their discretion.

'On that day the crew, comprising a driver and three loaders, lifted a total of 14.1 tons of garden waste.'

The council this year increased funding to employ extra binmen on its fortnightly garden waste rounds so it could limit the average weight lifted to five tons per person per day.

This followed a health and safety review after dustmen complained about the amount of garden waste bags they had to lift each day.

All other rubbish and recycling is put in wheelie bins which do not have to be lifted.

Last week, the Daily Mail reported how the people of Birks Road, Huddersfield, blockaded a bin lorry until operators agreed to take away rubbish left beside wheelie bins after a refuse strike.

Other victims of bin madness include Gareth Corkhill, from Whitehaven, Cumbria, who was fined and given a criminal record after leaving the lid of his full wheelie bin 4in ajar.

Widow June Kay, 79, was told to push her wheelie bin more than half a mile down a steep hill if she wanted it emptied by Ribble Valley Council in Lancashire.

And Lenny Woodward, 95, a nearblind former Desert Rat, was told that Norwich City Council would not collect his rubbish because he put a ketchup bottle in the wrong bin.