THE managing director of a national rubbish removal firm has spoken out after one of his company’s products was involved in a road incident in Winklebury.

Last Friday, August 6, Basingstoke gardening company TJR Garden Maintenance was carrying out a job on Firs Way when its vehicle tipped over, causing its contents to spill over the road.

A nearby resident told the Gazette it appeared as though the van had “lost balance”, but owner Tyler Riley later claimed it was due to a "unforeseeable mechanical failure", and that all health and safety procedures were followed to swiftly rectify the issue.

The van had been collecting a HIPPOBAG, a sack used as an alternative to a skip for household garden waste.

Commenting on the incident, Gareth Lloyd-Jones, managing director of HIPPO, said: “This distressing incident is exactly why we advise our customers to only book HIPPOBAG collections with HIPPO. We have our own fleet of cranes, driven by experienced drivers, that are specifically designed to collect filled HIPPOBAGs.

“Despite its lightweight nature, a HIPPOBAG can hold a great deal of waste when full and it requires particular skills and equipment to ensure it is removed safely and effectively.

“We hope that nobody was hurt as a result of [the] accident and would again encourage all HIPPOBAG customers to come to HIPPO for collection.”

No one was hurt in the Firs Way incident, and the street was cleaned of all waste.