BINMEN sparked fury when they returned to a road they missed only to pick up the garden waste of one house and ignore every other.

Residents in Gravel Lane, Barton Stacey, were supposed to have their waste collected by Test Valley Borough Council on Monday, August 10, a service the authority charges for.

But the houses were missed, prompting Ian Compton, who lives at the end of the lane, to phone TVBC and complain.

His two bags of waste were then collected on Friday, August 14 – but workers ignored the other houses on the street, even though they had to drive past them all to get to his property.

This week TVBC admitted to the Advertiser that it was suffering staffing problems and apologised for the situation.

Bemused Mr Compton said: “It seemed so stupid. When I called them to say the waste hadn’t been collected as normal they said they were short on staff and had temporary workers in.

“They came back on Friday and collected my two bags, but left the other 18 outside the other properties. I live at the end so they had to drive past everyone else’s, it’s ridiculous.

“I called the council again and they said mine was done because I’d rang in. If they had to come from Andover all the way here just to pick up two bags then it seems like dreadful waste to me, but that’s councils for you.

“I’m angry for everyone else.”

A spokesman for TVBC said: “We regret garden waste collections were missed. Mr Compton kindly made us aware of the issue and we went out to collect his waste as soon as possible.

“We apologise that other residents’ garden waste was not collected at the same time. The matter has now been resolved and we are sorry for any inconvenience caused. It is a busy time of year for the Environmental Service and we do have staffing issues. However, we have taken steps to ensure that the quality of collections improves.”

Have you had problems with your collections? E-mail your experiences to newsdesk@andoveradvertiser.co.uk