A PENSIONER has hit out at Bury Council after bulky waste he paid to have removed was still there five weeks later ­— despite assurances it would be collected “tomorrow”.

John Hall, aged 74, says he left a sofa and a washing machine outside his home in Branch Road, Holcombe, in early August, and paid £35 for the service.

However, it was still sitting there this morning, despite repeated phone calls from Mr Hall requested them to be collected.

He said: “I rang them five weeks ago to ask for a three-piece suite and a washing machine to be collected.

“My son had to take them to the end of the lane I live on for 7am on the Wednesday morning for them to be collected. They are still there. I have been on the phone to Bury Council time and time again and they keep saying they will come tomorrow.

“It is just ridiculous. I called them numerous times because I thought they might have been getting lost.”

The items were eventually collected by the council today, following the Bury Times's intervention.

However, Mr Hall says the items were an eyesore, and that he was worried what others may have thought when they saw them outside his home.

“I put a notice on saying it is due to Bury Council that they are there. It is a conservation area around here.”

Earlier this summer, Mr Hall received a new bin from the council, replacing the one he had had for 33 years after its wheel fell off.

The pensioner had recently received hospital treatment for his legs, and said that after the wheel came off he had been unable to drag the broken bin 500 metres to the end of the lane every collection day.

After appealing to the council about the £35 cost for a new black bin, the council made an exception in light of Mr Hall’s circumstances, and decided not to charge him the standard administration and delivery charge.

A spokesman for the council said: “We did send the regular bulky waste vehicle up to collect Mr Hall’s items, but it was unable to get to his house due to the rural location and the width of the lane.

"The job was passed to our street cleansing team, but there was a delay in attending to this, for which we apologise. We are glad that we got there in the end and his unwanted items have now been removed.”