Reading Tim Moore's response to residents of Stonery Road, Portslade, being up in arms about being told to lug loaded wheeled bins up steps and on to the pavement for collection, it seems clear to me the council spokesman was not appointed head of operations at Cityclean for his understanding of the law, intelligence or common sense.

Concerning law, the new provisions - section 130A to 130 D of the Highways Act 1980 says, inter alia, that it is an offence to "restrict" a public footpath with an object capable of causing an obstruction.

Concerning common sense and intelligence, who in their right mind would deliver wheeled bins to residents knowing they could not be left in the service road from which refuse has been collected for the past 50 years because this would prevent the dustcart driving along it?

Also, considering collection of black bags of rubbish left collectively by about 50 households of Stonery Road and Drove Crescent in their service road has been timed at less than six minutes in previous years, who in their right mind would change this system for one that must take at least an hour, probably longer, where each wheeled bin must be taken to the cart, hooked up, tipped up, tipped back, unhitched and wheeled back?

Clearly, the lunatics have taken over the asylum because, on top of all this, some idiot at the council has written to pensioners demanding to know why they are unable to get their laden wheeled bin up steps and on to the pavement for collection.

-Denis Goatcher, Stonery Road, Portslade