Mother's anger as maggots infest bin (From Warrington Guardian)

Mother's anger as maggots infest bin

AN angry Weaverham mother-of-three wants answers from Vale Royal Borough Council after it failed to help when her wheelie bin became infested with maggots.

Rebecca Bebbington, of Keepers Lane, discovered the creatures crawling on the bin when she took rubbish outside last Wednesday morning.

Rebecca, 20, said: "They were all over the bin, crawling up the driveway and some were even on my front door. I didn't know what to do so I phoned the council as the bin is their responsibility."

But Rebecca was not prepared for the response she received. She said: "I explained to the lady on the phone what had happened and that I have three children under the age of five, and she told me she also had three children and her bin was fine.

"But Alethea is only eight weeks old and Thomas is 19 months so they go through a lot of nappies. I was told I obviously wasn't packaging the nappies right before throwing them away, which was insulting and not true."

Neighbours helped Rebecca attack the infestation from 7am but she said council assistance did not arrive until 3pm. She added: "An inspector came and handed me three bin bags. I tried to explain to him why I was so angry and how I wrap all of my rubbish appropriately but he would not listen.

"Obviously the children go through a lot of nappies, and Thomas has weeping eczema so I constantly have to replace his bandages, so two weeks is too long to wait for your bin to be emptied."

A Vale Royal Borough Council spokesman said: "When Ms Bebbington contacted our support line she was advised to clean out her bin with boiling water and disinfectant and an arrangement was made for a waste management officer to visit her later that day to assess the situation and provide advice.

"An officer visited later that day and no one was at the property. Upon inspection of the bin's contents it became clear that not all the waste was being managed correctly.

"The officer left three waste bags and contact details so Ms Bebbington could arrange another visit. We have had no further contact from Ms Bebbington to date."