Edinburgh Council vows all bins will be picked up before festivities

The vow came as complaints continued about ungathered waste across the city, with on-street bins at bursting point.

Several residents of Abbeyhill contacted the Evening News to complain about the situation.

One Abbey Street resident, Joanne Hutchinson, said bins had not been taken for five weeks, with the council saying vans could not access the street.

Her neighbour, Ann Grant, echoed her gripes.

She said: "I know this is not the case because the bin lorry collects from further up the road, then comes down our street to turn.

"It is disgraceful, the bins have piled up on the street, you can't close the on-street ones which are usually locked, and disabled people cannot move past them because of the sheer amount of bags.

"I've been driving up to the tip myself to dispose of rubbish, which is far from ideal."

Earlier this week, the News reported how extra staff had been drafted in to help clear the rubbish backlog and how around 70 temporary skips had been put out in supermarket car parks, schools and leisure centres for people to dispose of their rubbish if it does not get collected.

Residents are also being told they can use their brown garden waste bin for general rubbish until further notice, but to make sure they bag the rubbish.

But today there were also complaints from residents in Morningside.

Ann Fegan, 54, who lives in Craighouse Gardens, said: "You look out on to the communal bins and they've all got their lids right up.

"I can't understand why, in the last five weeks, a bin lorry hasn't been able to come in and empty them. Plenty of cars can get in and out, so why not trucks?"

Council chiefs today also assured the public that all roads of note would be gritted before the weekend, including category-three roads, which are described as rural roads serving only small communities.

Adequate salt and grit supplies had been hoarded, the council added, alleviating fears of shortages which hit the country last year.

It comes as the Met office said temperatures over the weekend were unlikely to move above freezing.

The city is likely to escape the heavy snow which had been predicted for today, but there will be fog, followed by spells of sunshine tomorrow.

Forecasters said some light snow could be expected on Boxing Day.

Robert Aldridge, the city council's environment leader, said: "Since the severe weather began, we have had contractors and staff out working hard through some bitter weather conditions.

"This year, we have been pulling out all the stops in preparation for the cold spell.

"We have seen the worst winter for a number of years and we have a number of arrangements in place so residents can enjoy a safe and happy Christmas."