UNUSED brown bins piled up for a year outside a block of flats in March were removed just hours after the Cambs Times phoned Fenland District Council. When the Cambs Times brought this to our attention, we moved immediately to remove the majority of the

UNUSED brown bins piled up for a year outside a block of flats in March were removed just hours after the Cambs Times phoned Fenland District Council.

"When the Cambs Times brought this to our attention, we moved immediately to remove the majority of the bins," said a council spokesman.

"Until the Cambs Times highlighted the issue, we had been unaware of it as non-one had contacted us to say they were not needed."

The council sprung into action in St John's Chase where the bins had been delivered to tenants, even though none of them has a garden.

Roger Muncey, whose mother lives there, said "Despite there being no gardens, Fenland Council insisted on issuing each of the 44 occupiers, in addition to a green and blue bin, with a brown bin in which to deposit green waste. You couldn't move for wheelie bins."

Mr Muncey claimed environmental health officers refused to accept they had made an error "and it was left to the estate managing agents to collect the surplus bins together in one place to await collection by the council".

He added: "One year on, all these unused empty brown bins are still lined up, forming a sad welcome to an otherwise well-kept estate."

No longer. On Tuesday we phoned Fenland Council and the bins were soon on their way back to the council depot.

"We have left a half dozen bins behind for residents use as they are useful for kitchen waste if a resident's green bin is too full," said the spokesman.

"Green and brown bins are collected on alternate weeks so that rotting material does not remain on the premises for more than a week."

Mr Muncey explained he raised the issue after Fenland had highlighted the costs of replacing bins and yet £800 worth of bins had remained uncollected for a year.