"Bizarre reason residents claim bin men won't drive down hedge-lined street"

[dutchman]

Bin men are refusing to drive down a Coventry street - because a hedge might scratch their wing mirrors, a resident has claimed.



Terence Armour, who lives at the bottom of Dovecote Close, Coundon, says refuse collectors stopped emptying the general waste bins from outside houses at the end of the street three years ago.

Businessman Mr Armour, who has lived in the street for 14 years, said the problems began when a new collection team took over the route.

He claims workers told him they didn’t want to drive down the road because a hedge might scratch the lorry’s mirrors - although he says the recycling wagon manages to get down just fine.

He said: “I’ve had an issue with the bins for three years. They aren’t being taken away.

“He (the driver at the time) said he didn’t want to scratch the mirrors on the hedge. I cut the hedge back at a cost to myself.

“The recycling bin lorry comes down here, but the main truck won’t come down.

“If he can’t get down there then he shouldn’t be driving.”

He added: “You can quite clearly get a truck down here. A fire engine can get down here. There’s no reason a bin lorry can’t.”

He said: “The elderly lady next to me can’t do that. The mother next to me can’t leave her baby in the house to take the bin to the top of the street.”

He added: “Everybody else gets their bins collected outside their house.”

He estimates that in the past three years, he’s phoned the council between 50 and 100 times about his bin not being collected.

Mr Armour added that despite contacting his local councillor and going through the council’s complaints department, nothing has been done.

He added: “It’s a joke. What I don’t understand is this - I work for myself; when you have a call and you get a problem, you need it sorting out.”

A spokesman for Coventry City Council told the Telegraph that Dovecote Close was quite narrow and refuse wagons have to be able to drive forward or reverse down a street.

She said: “If a resident has an issue, they can apply for assisted collection.”