Colchester Borough Council's 'wheelie bin refusal'
A council in Essex has been criticised after telling its waste collectors not to lift sacks out of wheelie bins.
Sarah Jacobs, who lives in Peldon near Colchester, was concerned that rubbish left out for collection was strewn across their street by foxes and crows.
She and some neighbours decided to buy a wheelie bin, but Colchester Borough Council says staff will not empty it.
She criticised the council for not collecting the bags, but the council said it has health concerns.
Ms Jacobs told the BBC: "I have two gammy knees... I can wheel the wheelie bin down, I can take the rubbish out and put it down, and yet the dustbin men can't do that job.
"We are told to put the rubbish out before 0700 BST. If you put the rubbish out the night before you don't stand a chance - the foxes take the top off the (ordinary) dustbin and the crows then go for it.
"If you put it out in the morning, before 0700 BST, the same thing happens."
The council said the wheelie bins were "designed and built for mechanical collection".
It added: "In order to remove sacks contained in these bins it is therefore necessary to either tilt the bin or reach inside, a difficult task for many and one which if repetitive could cause injury."