Union bosses have renewed their calls for urgent action over the safety of Brighton and Hove’s new communal bins following the death of Scott Williams.

The GMB raised concerns earlier this year following two cases in which rough sleepers escaped death after sleeping in communal or business wheelie bins.

Now, it appears Mr Williams, 35, was not so lucky, being crushed to death after having been in a commercial bin when it was loaded onto a refuse lorry.

It is calling for investment in safety checks and condemning cuts to the refuse budget which mean no loader is now employed to check nobody is inside the bins before they are automatically emptied into the crusher.

Robert Macey LLB, GMB Organiser said: “This was obviously a tragic accident and we would wish to express our condolences both to the family of the deceased and the employees who found him.

“Since the Conservative administration began cutting the budget for the refuse service and introducing communal bins we have been warning that that this was an accident waiting to happen. There had already been two near misses earlier this year before this latest tragic accident.

“Whether the bins are owned by the council or private contractors, measures now need to be taken to ensure that all communal bins in the city are made safe and secured in a way that prevents people entering them and putting their lives at risk.

“We are therefore calling on the council to take action on this matter’ In May, screams were heard coming from a bin collected from Brighton beach.

The collection truck, crewed by one driver, pulled up alongside the bin and used the CCTV system in its cab to line it up and engage its automatic emptying mechanism.

The bin was hoisted above the vehicle and was about to be emptied into the compactor when the driver heard terrified shouts from a man inside.

In Queen’s Place, Brighton, in February, a shop bin containing a homeless man was pulled 30 yards down the road and tipped into a dustcart.

The Veolia Environmental Services crew hit an emergency button to stop him from being crushed.