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causing a stink

Our homes are surrounded by disgusting rubbish – lorries won’t come to pick it up because our street is too NARROW

FED-UP residents have claimed that bin lorries won't collect their rubbish - because the road is too narrow.

Locals on Hill Street in Reading, say their homes have been left surrounded by stinking refuse with the council unable to resolve the issue.

Residents of Hill Street in Reading, Berkshire claim that their bins are not picked up because the council says the street is too narrow
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Residents of Hill Street in Reading, Berkshire claim that their bins are not picked up because the council says the street is too narrowCredit: Simon Jones
Rob Gozdzielewski said he has had to call the council to get his bins picked up
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Rob Gozdzielewski said he has had to call the council to get his bins picked upCredit: Simon Jones
Edwin Stewart said that the area has become 'disgusting'
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Edwin Stewart said that the area has become 'disgusting'Credit: Simon Jones

Rob Gozdzielewski, an accountant who lives on Hill Street, told The Sun Online that he had to phone the council to get his bins collected as the rubbish piled up.

He said: "They [the lorries] have trouble turning around here. It is a problem."

Another neighbour added: "Luckily it was not too windy, it all goes everywhere when it does."

She also said she has contacted the council, yet the problem remains.

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She fumed: "I have have seen them reverse up this road before. The issue to me has never seemed like they cannot get down.

"I do not know whether it is there are too many people or too many bins, but from my perspective they should not have any trouble getting down here."

Meanwhile, the nearby Redlands Primary School had one month's supply of commercial waste built up when our team visited.

A source at the school said the council had been contacted but had not taken steps to remove the rubbish.

They added that one of the council's waste management teams did turn up, but didn't have the key needed to open the bollard and gain access to the road.

Further down the street, Edwin Stewart, 72, said that the area had become "disgusting" because of the lack of regular rubbish collections.

The council have apparently told locals that they will be introducing thinner lorries soon so that they can get down the narrow streets, but Lin Saunders, 68, dismissed this as "hogwash".

Lin fumed: "They can get delivery lorries down here all day.

"It used to be really lovely around here, and now everywhere you look there is rubbish all along the road."

A spokesperson for Reading Borough Council said: "We have been working to achieve a financially responsible solution to the waste collection issue in this location in Reading for some time.

"We are pleased that a solution has been found and from the beginning of April a new narrow access refuse vehicle will begin collections in the narrow roads.

"These roads have, in the past, experienced failed collections where poorly parked cars and narrow roads have combined to present challenges for our collection crews with our standard refuse vehicle widths.

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"The new narrower vehicle will be more easily able to navigate these roads, providing the consistency of service delivery our residents deserve.

"The bollards near Redland’s Primary School permit access to Lydford Road and do not negatively impact waste collections. This road is similarly width restricted and does not provide the turning circle required by our waste vehicles."

One resident said she had seen bin lorries getting down the street without a problem
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One resident said she had seen bin lorries getting down the street without a problemCredit: Simon Jones
Other says that their homes are now surrounded by weeks-old stinking refuse
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Other says that their homes are now surrounded by weeks-old stinking refuseCredit: Simon Jones
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