The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Vermin fears for Fife street after second festive bin failure
Bins left overflowing as council misses cul-de-sac again
Residents of a “forgotten” Fife cul-desac have had a second Christmas blighted by overflowing bins which they fear will attract vermin.
Waste bins were missed for collection in the week before Christmas and resident Caroline Mitchell said she and her neighbours waited five weeks for uplift when the same happened this time last year.
She said she ended up with mice in her house last year and had to call out a pest controller to get rid of them.
Caroline, whose neighbours in Old Mill Court, Leven, are elderly, said the problem was caused by visiting parked cars blocking the street, preventing access for the bin lorry.
Although she said she had complained repeatedly about the problem, no solution had ever been found.
Caroline and her husband, Brian, have been taking rubbish to the local recycling centre for themselves and neighbours.
But she said: “I work full-time as a carer, my husband works full-time and I am absolutely sick of having to do dump runs so we don’t get mice coming into the house.
“We are spending another Christmas and New Year with full bins which should have been emptied.”
Caroline claimed Old Mill Court was regularly missed out of other services, including grass cutting and weed control.
She said: “We have been utterly forgotten about.”
Last year neighbours had spotted mice at the lock-up garages near their bins and Caroline was horrified when she found droppings in her kitchen.
Fife Council said the street’s blue bins, normally emptied on a Tuesday, were due for collection on Sunday instead, due to the holidays.
Martin Kingham, service manager for waste operations, said: “Old Mill Court is a challenging street to service and it only takes one car to be parked on the road to cut off access for our vehicles.
“Unfortunately that’s what happened on December 19.
“We normally return afterwards to try to get access to the bins and I will investigate to ensure this has happened here.”
“I am absolutely sick of having to do dump runs so we don’t get mice coming into the house. LOCAL RESIDENT CAROLINE MITCHELL