No bins emptied if the wheels are on gravel

DUSTMEN have been told not to empty wheelie bins if they are left on GRAVEL driveways – because of health and safety.

Town hall bosses fear stones could get trapped in the wheels – and make the bins tumble on to the burly collectors. Waste contractors working for a council have been given strict instructions not to move bins on loose surfaces. The council told them only to collect bins if the wheels are left on the pavement.

Shocked resident Mark Birkett discovered the policy of West Wiltshire District Council when he asked them why his bin was not emptied. It had been left on the gravel pathway just a few inches from the pavement. Dad-of-two Mark, 38, of Trowbridge, said: “I can haul the bin 30ft along my drive yet they cannot drag it just a few inches over gravel – and it is downhill too. It is stupid, petty and frustrating. “It’s another case of utterly bonkers rules prevailing over common sense.” Barmy ... the fingers rule Mark now has to leave his bins on the narrow pavement which is only 35ins wide. Wife Hannah, 34, added: “My 13-year-old daughter can pull the bin all the way down our drive without falling over.” Parish councillor Kendrick Jackson, who shares his driveway with the Birketts, also had his bin left unemptied. He said: “This measure seems very Draconian and lacks common sense. “It’s not even like the binmen have to actually walk over the gravel because they can simply reach across.” A council spokesman insisted the residents had been asked to leave bins next to a wall so they were not on gravel or blocking the pavement. It is understood the policy was introduced across the county with strict instructions to waste contractor Fosca. Two months ago the authority also made headlines when they said they would not collect bins over a footstep away from the kerb. Before this, town hall bosses also introduced a “two-finger” rule, refusing to empty wheelies which binmen couldn’t pull with a pair of digits.