Sussex mum told to 'pay council' after flytipper ruins bin collection

Diane Bond had a severe stroke in 2019 which means she now uses a frame to move around her home, is weak on the left side of her body and is unable to use her left hand at all.

The mum-of-one, who lives alone, has assisted bin collections allowing her to leave the wheelie bin at the end of her garden rather than take it to the end of the alleyway, as the other residents in her area do.

On February 1 at 9am, Diane went to her bin and noticed a “large offcut” of thick carpet in her wheelie bin, preventing the lid from closing. She tried to remove it but, due to her disability, was unable to lift it.

Diane said she phoned the council three times that day to notify them of the situation and was told she would have to remove the carpet before it was due to be collected the following day.

Diane had a stroke in 2019 (Image: Supplied)

“I said to them that I can’t get the carpet out of the bin. They said I should take the bags out and leave them next to the bin to be collected or pay £50 to have the carpet removed, but I couldn’t afford £50 and couldn’t get the bags out,” said Diane.

A council worker is alleged to have said to Diane: “I’ve already told you it’s not our responsibility. I’ve said three times now you have to take it out yourself. There’s been a lot of fly-tipping in your area.”

Diane was upset and angry with the response and says she is now scared to leave her bin outside in case someone puts more carpet inside and she faces the ordeal all over again.

“I pay my council tax. It just makes me feel like no one really cares,” she said.

Eastbourne Borough Council said they had a record of only two calls from Diane on February 1 and found no evidence she was told it would cost £50 to remove the carpet.

Kirkstall Close in Eastbourne (Image: Google Earth)

“We are sorry that this matter has caused Ms Bond some distress,” said a council spokesman.

“We operate an assisted collection service for a number of our residents in Eastbourne and it is highly regarded, so it is obviously disappointing to hear that Ms Bond felt the service did not meet usual standards.

“On February 1, Ms Bond called the council on two occasions. During the first call at 11.25am she reported a ‘rug’ in her bin and we immediately passed this information onto the council’s Neighbourhood First team.”

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After the first call, Diane contacted a removal company that took the carpet away for £30.

“At 4.44pm, Ms Bond called again to say she had arranged for the item to be collected,” said the spokesman.

“Calls into the council are not recorded so we can’t substantiate exactly what was said, but we will contact Ms Bond to reassure her about her refuse collection service.”