Family wins battle for a second bin (and it only took two years!)

Homeowners may be able to demand extra wheelie bins after a solicitor won a two-and-a-half-year battle against his council.

Roger Houlker, who is married with three children, claimed his family often produced too much rubbish to fit in the 240-litre bin for non-recyclable waste provided by his council.

Exasperated with his local authority's refusal to allow him an extra bin, even when he offered to pay for it himself, he lodged an official complaint.

He claimed binmen would leave any extra rubbish bags on his driveway, where they were often ripped open by vermin, spreading the contents all over the grounds of his six-bedroomed property.

The former amateur rugby player, 56, was forced to make regular trips to his local rubbish dump, 12 miles away, to dispose of the waste.

But in a landmark ruling, he has finally been awarded a second bin after the local government ombudsman found Congleton Borough Council had failed to respond effectively to Mr Houlker's complaints or make any proper assessment of the volume of waste generated before making its decision.

Ombudsman Anne Seex ordered the council to review its policy and pay Mr Houlker £250 for 'time, trouble and costs' incurred taking his rubbish to the tip.

The ruling could lead to a flood of appeals against councils across the country who have similar policies.

Mr Houlker, who lives in the village of Swettenham, near Congleton, Cheshire, first requested a second bin in February 2006, saying he was doing all he could to recycle any waste created by his wife, Julie, and their children, and that the council had a legal duty to take it away.

However, the council refused to listen and, ten months later, Mr Houlker, who was once officially commended by a judge for making seven citizen's arrests in the space of 20 years, made an official complaint to the ombudsman.

Mr Houlker said: 'The chief executive has apologised and I consider the matter now closed. As regards the award of £250, I have requested that the chief executive donate this sum direct to the Victims of Crime Trust.'

A spokesman from the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said councils should interpret the rules 'reasonably', adding: 'It is hard to see how the authority can justify refusing collecting waste from a second bin, especially where the resident is offering to pay for the additional receptacle.'