THE chairman of a parish council has said it is “laughable” that Somerset Council is expecting elderly people to take their rubbish-filled wheelie bins down a steep hill because it is too dangerous for refuse collectors to go up and get them.

Henry Harington, of Luccombe Parish Council, said he is completely baffled and mystified as to why residents in Stoney Street have been put in a difficult situation.

Stoney Street has suffered from a lack of road and drainage maintenance over several years and subsidence has set in which has left it in a state of disrepair and has now been deemed too bad for the refuse lorry to use.

Residents were notified by letter on August 22 from Somerset Council that due to the condition of Stoney Street that they would need to bring their refuse and recycling to the end of the road for collection rather than workers going house to house.

And Mr Harington, who lives in Stoney Street, has said the road should have been maintained properly in the first place.

“I’ve been told that the council’s refuse collectors can’t come up Stoney Street and collect the wheelie bins for us because of health and safety,” he said. “So it’s not safe for their staff to come up Stoney Street in their lorry, but it’s ok for elderly residents to walk down Stoney Street with wheelie bins?

“It’s laughable – I can just picture a scene of chaos; something out of the film One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest!”

Council waste management officer David Rosser, of waste services, wrote in his letter to residents that getting people to take their rubbish to collection points at the bottom of Stoney Street was the “only option.”

“Whilst we have been continuing to service the street for waste collections as the roadway deteriorated, we have been periodically risk assessing the condition to ensure the safety of our vehicles driving up it,” said Mr Rosser.

“Unfortunately following the most recent assessment, the decision has had to be made that we feel we can no longer continue to drive up this road as the risk is too high for the safety of our vehicles and crew.

“As a result of this I have no option other than to ask for residents to bring their refuse and recycling to the end of Stoney Street for collection with immediate effect.

“Whilst I appreciate and do apologise that this is a major inconvenience, this is the only option I have available to ensure a regular collection of your refuse and recycling going forward.”

The letters follows a recent incident in which a rubbish collection vehicle sustained damage in Stoney Street due to the subsidence.

But Mr Harington said: “Somerset Council has caused this problem by failing to repair the road. What happens if the road gets worse and ambulances and fire engines can’t get up there in the event of an emergency?”

Somerset Council has been approached a comment.