INDUSTRIAL action by bin lorry drivers in Brighton and Hove have left some residents without a rubbish collection for four weeks.

As the workers continued their campaign of strike and work to rule action yesterday with a four hour walk out in their ongoing dispute over pay grades drags on, parts of the city is continuing to suffer with some residents reporting they have not had any bin collections since even before the strike.

Members of the GMB union voted against council proposals on Thursday and elected to carry out yesterday’s action and continue the indefinite work to rule.

Both the council and the union apologised for the disruption as bin men took to the picket line.

Deborah McCrudden, of Langdale Road, West Hove, said the last bin collection her road had seen was on September 8 – the Monday before the first strike which also took place on a Monday which is the day of their bin collection.

The 45-year-old said: “I have made trips to the tip twice as we have a family of foxes along our road that are tearing open the black bin bags.

“The street smells bad as the rubbish has been sat on the street for the past three week. It is a health hazard.”

She added: “For a town that makes a lot of money from tourism it is not a very good impression. September has had fantastic weather for the tourists but some business must have suffered.”

The work to rule has been live since September 12. The union say the council does not recognise the professional qualifications of their 38 HGV drivers when evaluating pay grades.

Warren Morgan, leader of the Labour and Co-Operative Group, condemned the strike action.

He said: “Residents will have run out of patience on this and we do not see that further action is justified in light of the offer from the council.

“We urge those taking action to think again and return to work, so that people across the city who have no part in this dispute can once again have their bins collected.

Geoff Raw, executive director environment, development and housing, said yesterday: “Due to the four hour strike by some drivers today I’m sorry there is likely to be some disruption to the service.

"We did agree with the GMB that we will work together on a full service redesign but we are unable to raise the salaries of one group of workers without equal pay implications across the entire organisation.

“We will continue to keep the discussions with the union going and we are working to do all that is necessary to develop a service which meets the city’s needs.”