Armitage Bridge pensioner Joan North's bins weren't emptied for ten weeks

A pensioner faced with living alongside a growing heap of rubbish after her bins were left unemptied for more than 10 weeks is finally celebrating - after the Examiner stepped in.

Joan North, 75, of Royd Terrace, Armitage Bridge, has diabetic neuropathy, which affects her balance, and is unable to move her bins up and down the street.

Instead she has an assisted bin collection service, where bags are emptied from her bins for her.

But after Kirklees Council changed the bin collection service in early September, none of her bags was taken, and at one point there were at least 12 full bin bags, some of which had been out more than 10 weeks.

Her two bins were overflowing, with bags piling up alongside them.

After hearing of her plight, the Examiner approached the council and within hours all the bags had been removed.

Mrs North said: “I spoke to the council myself three times but nothing happened. I don’t normally complain but I was left tearing my hair out. I had nowhere to put the bags and just had to pile them up and they stank.”

Mrs North, whose husband died three years ago, is a retired accountant and has lived in Royd Terrace for 55 years.

“I have the assisted bin emptying because I have nerve damage and it affects my balance. At first the scheme worked fine.

“But they didn’t take the bags for two weeks before the changes came in, and after the changes, they didn’t take a single bag. They emptied the neighbouring bins but not mine.”

Huge changes to bin collections were brought in on September 7 in a bid to save cash-strapped Kirklees Council money.

The shake-up meant collection day changes for many as the council shifted to operating only four days per week. Early on, many areas were missed amid confusion over the new routes.

Bin crews put in extra hours making up the backlog following the changes, and it seemed the new system had settled down.