A WOMAN has thanked the people who cleared up mess left by seagulls outside a block of flats where rubbish was not collected for five weeks.

Dionne Charles, who lives in Highcroft Lodge in Highcroft Villas, Brighton, said there has been no rubbish picked up for five weeks and no recycling collection for two months, which has led to seagulls feasting on the piles of waste.

After The Argus contacted Brighton and Hove City Council this week, it sent a truck out to clear the rubbish.

Ms Charles said how grateful she was for the cleaners at the block who have been clearing up outside the 35 flats.

The Argus: The carpark last week before the cleaners cleared up.The carpark last week before the cleaners cleared up.

She said: “We’re quite lucky, because what happens is our cleaners step in.

"I saw the state of the bins when the seagulls had got to them and they were strewn all across the car park.

“The next day I saw that the poor cleaners had just cleaned the whole thing up for us, which is amazing.

“But of course that’s the only thing that’s keeping on top of it really - the cleaners that we employ for our block. They should be cleaning the inside of the building but instead they’re cleaning up the rubbish because the bins haven’t been collected.

The Argus: The bins yesterday before the Council collected them.The bins yesterday before the Council collected them.

“We pay our council tax to have our bins collected but then on top of that we’re paying our cleaners but their time is being used to clean up because the bins aren’t collected.”

Dionne says she has been reporting the rubbish piles almost every week this year, while the flats have had problems with bin collections for the last three years.

She said: “Other than two weeks, I reckon I’ve reported a missed collection every single week this year. It’s my weekly thing I do because it’s so often now."

Brighton and Hove City Council sent out a truck yesterday afternoon, after The Argus got in contact about the missed collections.

The Argus: The truck collecting the rubbish yesterday.The truck collecting the rubbish yesterday.

A council spokesman said: “The refuse at Highcroft Lodge is due to be collected this afternoon or evening.

“We would like to apologise to residents for the disruption caused by the missed collections.

“The national shortage of HGV drivers has meant that we have been unable to cover staff absences with agency staff. This has led to a backlog of work.

“Our Cityclean staff are working extremely hard to deliver the best service they can under very difficult circumstances.”

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