A RESIDENT took matters into his own hands after a council ignored requests to collect rubbish bins that had been left on his street for more than a week.

Mike Pearcy of Nutleigh Grove, Hitchin, got so fed up calling North Herts District Council (NHDC) to collect the bins he delivered a bin to the council offices in Gernon Road, Letchworth GC, and left it in reception on Friday afternoon.

Mr Pearcy told the Comet: “I am sick to the back teeth of being ignored; I have called them (NHDC) time and time again for someone to come and collect the bins, which don’t even belong to the people that live in Nutleigh Grove.

“They have been there since Monday and they stink and are a health hazard. Footpaths are obstructed, making it difficult and dangerous for elderly people and mothers with prams to walk. And because they switch the street lights off at night you can’t see anything, making people trip over them.

“Now they can deal with the smell and inconvenience.”

Mr Pearcy said if action was not taken by the council to remove the rest of the bins he would take each bin to the council offices and leave it in reception.

Mr Pearcy said 13 bins, including one industrial bin, had been left on his street.

Cllr Peter Burt, NHDC portfolio holder for waste and recycling, said: “Our waste team received a call last week regarding a number of bins which had been left out on the footpath outside Nutleigh Grove for a considerable amount of time. One of our waste officers visited the road and subsequently put any bins marked with house numbers back outside the correct property. Our contractors, Veolia were then subsequently instructed to remove the remaining bins from the footpath and this was due to happen on Monday (9).

“Upon speaking to Mr Pearcy on Friday, we did advise him that the bins were due to be removed on Monday, however unfortunately in the meantime he decided to take matters into his own hands by unhelpfully bringing a bin into council offices.

“The remaining bins were subsequently removed on Friday afternoon from the footpath and we would encourage residents who now find themselves without a bin to contact us as soon as possible so that we can return them. Upon return, we will clearly mark the bins with the relevant house number to avoid any future issues. We would also advise all North Herts residents to mark their bins with their house number to avoid any potential confusion.”