COLIN Pipe should check the facts before accusing residents of Durley Gardens of “putting out” piles of black bags in the street the night before they are due for collection by the council (“Flytipping is still a major problem”, Echo, January 30).

If he had done his homework properly, which he should have done before accusing law-abiding and community-conscious residents like me “of taking the easy route”, he would have found out that it is contractors appointed by the managing agents, who transfer the rubbish bags from the rubbish area in the basement to the pavements in readiness for the rubbish to be collected.

The reason that the managing agents have to appoint contractors to undertake these arguably unnecessary duties is that the council refuses to collect the bags from the rubbish areas – a distance of some five metres albeit up eight steps – for the usual questionable ‘health and safety’ reasons.

So the council does not, as Mr Pipe suggests, assist in finding a solution to this long-standing problem.

I suggest it is the council that is ‘hindering’, not the residents.

C HOUGHTON Address supplied