Dave and Judy Box's household refuse had become infested after it had unavoidably piled up since mid-August because of an emergency admission to hospital.

It looked as if the rubbish, complete with maggots, would have to stay until the couple's next regular collection tomorrow (Friday, September 5).

But the Observer's intervention saw Arun District Council's contractor, Verdant, quickly step in and ensure the health-hazardous bin bags were removed on Tuesday.

Mr Box (60), who said his request for help on Monday, in between the regular collections was originally refused, said the council should have a policy to deal with such ircumstances.

"I was told that the refuse collectors would only come out in between collections if they had made a mistake.

"But this wasn't about any mistake. It was about an unavoidable stay in hospital," he stated.

"Arun assumes that everyone who goes into hospital plans to do so. Therefore, they can make plans to have their rubbish put out.

"But a lot of people end up in hospital unexpectedly. They can't think about their rubbish in those circumstances. They may not have anyone to put it out for them anyway.

"That means it has to stay uncollected until they come out of hospital. The council should have contingency plans for such exceptional circumstances but I was told there weren't any."

An Arun spokeswoman said the council had sympathy for the situation which Mr and Mrs Box were in. An exception had been made to the usual policy to ensure their refuse was removed immediately.

"Residents are reminded that they have the responsibility for managing their waste and making it available in line with the collection arrangements for their area," she said.

"While we urge residents to contact the council at the earliest opportunity if they have any problems, collections outside of the normal arrangements are the exception, with each case looked at individually."

The council was always prepared to listen to problems about refuse collections but it was mindful of the need to continue to run one of the best value refuse collection services in the country with Verdant.

Mrs Box (79) was taken into St Richard's Hospital on August 17 after she fell while she was out and suffered a badly cracked hip.

She was kept in for 12 days as medical staff tackled her condition. Her husband stayed with her to help with her care.

They returned at 3pm last Friday (August 29), a few hours after their usual rubbish collection. This meant they missed two weekly collections of refuse from their house in Shelley Road.



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