Brighton's bins are in a mess - and it appears so is the system for collecting them.

Revelations in The Argus last week that binmen stood to collect £230 each for an extra day's work after the bank holiday weekend caused a storm.

Some residents expressed outrage at the one-off pay-outs negotiated by the powerful GMB union.

Meanwhile, the union itself seems unhappy. News of the bonuses leaked out - prompting threats workers would not turn up for the scheduled extra day this Saturday.

Under the £230 arrangements, about 100 dustmen would have carried out their usual Monday rounds yesterday, after taking the bank holiday off.

Each day's routine would have been delayed 24 hours, culminating in the Saturday shifts bringing collections back on schedule.

But instead of carrying out Monday's rounds, the dustmen carried out their Tuesday rounds as normal.

The union could yet relent and work the extra day after all. That would seem the solution offering something for everyone.

Residents could be assured their rubbish was being cleared at some point this week, rather than be left to fester for a fortnight.

Meanwhile, the dustmen would be able to pocket their handy £230 bonuses. Whether they should be given such generous payments for just one day's work is another matter entirely.

After the unhappy rule of private contractor Sita, the decision to bring the refuse service back under council control was meant to boost efficiency and public confidence.

Unfortunately, both seem to have suffered a bank holiday battering.