A CONSERVATIVE councillor has said residents in her ward have had rubbish go uncollected for more than six weeks.

Dawn Barnett, councillor for Hangleton and Knoll, has said she has been inundated with complaints from residents who have had refuse continue to pile up despite the end of the bin strike last week, with some complaining of maggots in their bins.

She said: "It’s ludicrous what’s happening. They must have done around six roads in North Hangleton, but Northease Drive wasn’t done, all around Hangleton Valley has not been done, the Knoll Estate’s not been done - they’ve done a minute amount of Hangleton and just left the rest."

Residents should have had a collection take place last Friday, but refuse workers did not show up, Cllr Barnett said.

She said: “I’ve had people on the phone to me saying ‘this is the sixth week now, what’s happening?’ It’s crazy - we cannot leave areas for six weeks.

“One man phoned me up and said ‘I’m fed up with all this lot. I’ll set light to it and then the fire brigade can come and put it out and clear the mess up.’

“This is how bad it is getting - people are threatening to set light to it in the streets.”

The Argus: Some of the rubbish piling up in Hangleton: credit - Dawn BarnettSome of the rubbish piling up in Hangleton: credit - Dawn Barnett

Cllr Barnett said she is not blaming the workers, but claims the team that normally serves the area “must have been pulled out to go somewhere else”.

“At the end of the day, it’s not acceptable," she said.

“My ward is being neglected, and I can’t be the only councillor that’s finding this.”

In a statement, Brighton and Hove City Council said that Cityclean staff have been working “day and night” to clear up the streets after the industrial action earlier this month, but admitted it could take at least a fortnight to remove all the rubbish.

They said: “The scale of the operation is a massive one. The very large piles of waste that have built up around our communal bins and recycling ‘bring sites’ take about one hour to clear.

“We believe there is a two weeks’ backlog, which means it will take a minimum of two weeks to remove.

“We fully realise how frustrating it is to see our beautiful city with so much rubbish on the streets, and we want to thank all of our residents and businesses for their patience and understanding during these times.”

Brighton and Hove saw rubbish pile high over 13 days of strike action by the GMB in a dispute over pay and working conditions. A deal was agreed by the union and the council last week, which will see Cityclean staff and the lowest paid staff employed by the council receive a pay increase.

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