A STOKENCHURCH resident said "common sense has gone out of the window" after binmen refused to take his rubbish as the bin lid was slightly ajar.

Stuart Johnson, 43, from Malet Close, Stokenchurch put his rubbish bin out to be collected as usual.

But he was annoyed to discover it was still there, after the bin collection had been.

The dad of three said: "I rang the council to ask why they did not collect my bin. They asked me if the bin was completely closed.

"I said it was no more than half an inch open- we are talking a very little bit.

"The lady told me the policy is if it is not completely closed then they will not take it. "I thought it would just be common sense."

He said he was then warned about health and safety by the council workers. He has since had to take his rubbish down to the skip as his bin is still full.

Mr Johnson added: "I think common sense has gone out of the window."

On May 31 spokesman for Wycombe District Council, Nick Sykes, said: "We can confirm that a call was received pertaining to this address on the morning of 15th May to report a missed collection.

"The team member who took the call tried to ascertain why the bin might have been missed. Standard questions we ask would include –
• was your bin out on the edge of your property boundary for collection by 7am?
• was the bin lid open?
• were there any extra bags of waste balanced on top?
• have your neighbours bins been emptied?

"The resident in question confirmed that his bin had been out for collection from 7am. However at 7.50am the crew reported that when collections were made from this street this bin was not out.

"We always ask that residents place waste receptacles out for collection from 7am, which is when collection crews begin their rounds.

"If the receptacle is not presented when the collection crew arrive at a property, it is not deemed a missed collection and we would not expect the crew to return in this instance."