War veteran, 96, has rubbish uncollected for two weeks for 'crime' of putting two jars in wrong bin

Lenny Woodward, a former Desert Rat who has lived in the same house for 58 years, was confused by a new regime of fortnightly collections and rigid recycling rules.

Residents have a blue wheelie bin for cans and cardboard, a green box for glass and a black bin for other waste.

Mr Woodward made the mistake of putting the ketchup bottle and a coffee jar in the blue bin when they should have gone in the green box.

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When binmen inspected the blue bin, they refused to empty it and attached a tag to it warning him not to break the rules again.

And when his daughter rang Norwich City Council to explain that he was baffled by the new regime, she was told that "rules have to be obeyed".

Mr Woodward, who lives alone following the death of his wife Hilda three years ago, said: "I'm very sorry it happened. It's just I'm confused. I don't know which bin is which so I put the wrong things in the wrong bin.

"They could have knocked on my door and spoken to me about it instead of putting a note on the bin saying they would not empty it.

"It all seems very childish. I've never broken the law before. I haven't even had a parking fine or speeding ticket."

His daughter, Vicky Marshall, 46, added: "I was really angry about what happened and rang the council to complain.

"You would think they would take into account that he's 95 and could make some concessions. But I was told these were rules and they had to be obeyed."

Mrs Marshall's husband, Rob, 49, said: "There were only about five other items in the bin, including a newspaper, a tin and a couple of bits of cardboard. "The council should find other things to do than frightening an old man. The streets around here are a mess but you never see a road sweeper."

Mr Woodward was a railway worker for nearly 50 years but spent five years as a gunner in the Desert Rats, serving in North Africa and Italy during the Second World War.

He had never fallen foul of council rules before fortnightly collections were brought in last October.

A football-style yellow and red tag warning system was introduced for residents who fail to correctly sort their rubbish or overfill their bins.

Mr Woodward, who uses a walking stick, had received a yellow tag before binmen boycotted him last Wednesday - but he couldn't read it because of his poor eyesight.

The bin was emptied two days later after the local paper became involved.

Norwich City Council said an officer would be visiting Mr Woodward to explain the system.

A spokesman added: "We can help residents move heavy bins on a regular basis if they are unable to do this. We are not able to sort rubbish for them."

Last month, bus driver Gareth Corkhill, 26, from Whitehaven in Cumbria, was given a criminal record and fined £210 because the amount of rubbish in his wheelie bin left the lid open by a few inches.