Wheelie bins are like buses in Hertsmere - just ask 88-year-old Brenda Ray.

Brenda, of Bushey Heath, waited more than seven weeks for a new black wheelie bin.

Then the council delivered two in the same week.

Brenda noticed her black wheelie bin was missing on Thursday, March 5.

She reported it to Hertsmere Borough Council who told her to wait until Monday to see if it was returned.

On the Monday Brenda phoned again and was told she would have to pay £33 to replace it, so she sent a cheque off that day. It was cashed ten days later.

Despite numerous phone calls, Brenda still had to wait seven weeks until a replacement bin was delivered, forcing her to store rotting rubbish in her conservatory between fortnightly collections.

Brenda's bin finally arrived on Monday and on Wednesday, a second black wheelie bin was delivered.

She said: "I can't believe that there can be such inefficiency. I've been here for 53 years and I feel that as an elderly resident I should have received better treatment."

Brenda said she was keen to recycle as much as she could but found it difficult to move her heavy wheelie bins from her front garden onto the roadside on collection days.

She said: "My green bin that gets really heavy and if they could come on to the premise and just wheel the bins out for me it would really help."

council spokesperson, said: "We apologise to Mrs Ray for the late delivery of her replacement black wheelie bin.

"Brenda is eligible for assisted bin collections, which is where our waste operatives actually pick up her green bin from her property to empty it, rather than her have to pull it to the kerbside.

"We thank Mrs Ray for her continued enthusiasm and support for recycling. We appreciate that for some elderly members of the community, a full wheelie bin can be hard to move to the kerbside, which is why we offer an assisted bin collections service. I would urge Mrs Ray to fill in the form for the assisted collections so that she can be included in the service, which will result in our operatives collecting her wheelie bins from her property and allow her to continue to recycle her green waste."

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