Accolades for South Hams bin collectors

Bin collectors across the South Hams are cleaning up accolades, after slashing missed collections across the rural region.

Figures in the council’s annual report show that 146 collections were missed in every 100,000 in the last year, compared to a staggering 8,535 across the previous 12 months.

“That’s a fantastic achievement, not only by senior management but also by all of our waste operatives,” said council leader Julian Brazil (Lib Dem, Stokenham). “It has been a fantastic team effort and something we should be proud of as a council.”

Councillors agreed unanimously to approve the annual report which sets out the local authority’s challenges and achievements.

But Conservative group leader Nicky Hopwood (Woolwell) argued: “The report says that the lack of local affordable housing is a top priority. It shouldn’t be ‘a’ top priority, it should be ‘the’ top priority.

“Climate change should not be our top priority, housing should be.”