Council slammed for leaving Leighton Buzzard grit bin 'filled with rubbish and water'

Central Bedfordshire Council has come under fire for leaving a grit bin "filled with rubbish and water".

The bin, on Bridge Street, was hightlighted to officers before Christmas, but Lib Dem campaigners say it has taken around six weeks for the mess to be removed. They say the complaint "bounced between two departments" with both of them "trying to close the case".

Lib Dem Member Shaun Roberts said: "It is ridiculous that six weeks after reporting this, the council have still failed to take action. During this time, we have had two severe cold snaps and to make matters worse the bin is located outside Leighton Middle School, where parents, grandparents and carers pick up children.

"Someone could have had a nasty accident because the council couldn’t make the pavement safer. I’d urge residents to check on nearby grit bins and let us know if there's any problems so we can chase the council to take action.”

A Central Bedfordshire Council spokeswoman, said: "Unfortunately, this grit bin was missed when the team filled the 250-plus other grit bins across Central Bedfordshire at the start of winter. Our winter maintenance team has now filled the bin and topped up the other grit bins in this location too.

“We work with town and parish councils to provide them with salt so that they can fill the additional salt bins that they provide, as required throughout the winter. In instances where a bin needs more grit, we ask residents to call us on 0300 300 8049 or email [email protected] so that we can go out and fill it up.”