Some residents of Wivelsfield Road, Saltdean, are very senior retired people, at least two being in their 80s and one close to 90 years of age.

Wivelsfield Road is a very steep road. The residents of this road each week have to take, or drag, their black bags of rubbish down from their houses (or up if they are on the opposite side) in order to accommodate the dustmen, presumably able-bodied men.

We are told we must help to make their workload as quick and easy as possible.

The binmen missed Wivelsfield Road after the alternative collection date of Wednesday, August 28.

They missed it for three days following and, on each of those three days, residents lugged their black bags up (or down) from their property each morning, hoping the dustmen would come, and each evening lugged them back again to prevent the seagulls, badgers and wild foxes scavenging and dispersing the contents all over our gardens.

We finally lugged our bags for the fourth time on Saturday, September 31, when the dustmen eventually turned up.

The same thing happened the week before last. The dustmen did not turn up on the expected Wednesday but three days later, on Friday the 13th.

Why the protracted delay? Did the normal collection for the other streets designated for the Wednesday, Thursday and Friday following Wivelsfield Road's Tuesday all suffer the same fate?

Was all of Saltdean inconvenienced by three days, too, in their respective areas? What did the dustmen do before they resumed operation on the Friday?

They must have missed Wivelsfield Road deliberately.

-Delysia Balhatchet, Wivelsfield Road, Saltdean