Council bans binmen from collecting in cul-de-sacs... because it takes trucks too long to reverse

Instead, families have been ordered to drag their wheelie bins to the end of the street on collection day.

The decision by Uttlesford District Council in Essex has outraged residents in the six cul-de-sacs which have had their doorstep collections cancelled.

A wheel nightmare: Raymond Kirk stands at the site where he and his fellow residents must take their bins instead of having them collected from outside their homes

They have demanded a cut in council tax  -  and warn that the groups of bins left at the entrance to roads are a safety hazard.

The 200 homes affected were warned of the change in a note left on their bins.

Former policeman Raymond Kirk, 66, of Dunmow, Essex, said residents in his street, some of whom are elderly, now have to drag their bins up to 50 yards to be collected.

He said: 'It's ridiculous. The council makes these announcements and there's nothing you can do.

'The rubbish trucks can easily get down our road, it just takes them a touch longer.

'But it's the council's job to collect our rubbish and our role, as residents, to pay for it.

'We shouldn't have to help them do their job. If we're not getting this service, we should pay less council tax.'

Mr Kirk, whose wife Jill, 67, is blind, added: 'If I was taken ill it would be a nightmare.

'Jill wouldn't be able to drag the bin out on her own.'

Dunmow Conservative councillor John Davey is backing the residents. He said: 'It's highly dangerous to have bins clogging the entrance.

'Driver visibility is reduced and pedestrians are forced into the street. It's an accident waiting to happen.'

Outrage: An Uttlesford District Council bin lorry makes its collections in Dunmow, Essex, where they have been told not to collect bins in cul-de-sacs unless they are left at the end of the street

Penny Sanders, 43, lives at the top of her close and has an unsightly mass of bins left outside her house on collection day.

She said: 'Physically for me it is fine but it means I have a massive bank of wheelie bins on the path outside my house.

'The council tells people to take them back immediately but that isn't always feasible.

'A lot of people who live here work at Heathrow and are away for a few days at a time.'

Russell Clark, Uttlesford's waste and recycling officer, said the number of households in the area had increased from 11,000 to 16,000 within two years.

He said binmen are working an additional two hours a day to cover the increase.

But rather than increase the amount of money spent on waste collection, in line with increased revenue from council tax, Mr Clark said the council is trying to make savings.

He said: 'Creating central collection points reduces the amount of time spent by our operatives trying to manoeuvre either by vehicle or foot into areas that aren't easy to access.

'As the number of houses in our area increases it becomes increasingly difficult to reach them all.

'We would have to increase council tax by about £3 per year to continue to offer a doorstep collection for everyone.'

A Local Government Association spokesman commented: 'It's up to each council how it collects waste and recycling.

'Some towns are full of long housing terraces whereas others have a lot of cul-de-sacs. It's about coming up with the most efficient solution.'