Come Dine With Me but make sure you empty the bins first

Published on Tuesday 21 July 2009 09:46

BINMEN cleared piled-up rubbish from a city street after a resident phoned the council to say it would be appearing on a national TV show – but left bins overflowing just 50 yards away.

Rubbish had piled up in the Yardheads area of Leith, just off Great Junction Street, as a result of the city-wide bin dispute.

But after a contestant taking part in Channel 4's Come Dine With Me series complained about the overflowing rubbish and informed them that a crew would be filming the street as part of the programme, the bins outside her home were swiftly emptied.

A street cleaner was also spotted outside her home last Sunday – just two days before film crews descended, while rubbish was left piling up just yards away on the same street.

The city council insists it has "no record" of a request to clean-up the street for the film crew, however residents are in no doubt it was given special attention.

Andy Matheson, 46, who lives in a converted whisky bond, said: "My neighbour contacted the council to complain and said she was going to be on a TV show and they were going to be filming here and the next thing we know the bins were emptied.

"They haven't been back since though.

"I don't think people will be happy that they have emptied them just because the street is going to be on a TV show. If they've got the resources to do that, why aren't they doing it everywhere?"

Gary Thomas, 41, who lives further down the street from where the filming was taking place, didn't have his bins collected.

He said: "I think it's a bit shocking. You do get used to people striking now and again and there's not a lot you can do about it, but when some bins are getting emptied just because there's a film crew around it's not fair."

One city bin man, who asked not to be named, said this kind of thing happened often. He added: "You better believe it. It's not what you know, it's who you know."

Gordon Munro, Labour councillor for Leith, called for the council to treat every street like it was being filmed for national TV.

He said: "I'm pleased that they acted on my constituent's concern, however she is one out of 18,000 constituents that are needing their rubbish collected at the moment.

"I would like to see this done for everybody and on a more organised basis, not just because someone is going on a TV show."

A council spokeswoman said: "We have no record of a specific request to lift waste from this address. There are normally several collections per week on this street and the frequency depends on the type of bin.

"Our waste collection service is experiencing delays but bins are still being emptied.

"Under normal circumstances, Great Junction Street is cleaned daily and the surrounding streets are cleaned regularly on an ongoing basis."

Your Say: Should the council prioritise which streets to clean?

Diana Atkinson, 77, retired, Greenlaw Rigg: "This was most unfair. My bin's been out since Thursday and it's stinking."

Ronald Aitken, 55, carer, Pirniefield Bank: "I suppose the council wanted to give a good image of Edinburgh, but it's unfair."

George Pitcher, 81, retired, Pleasance: "Everyone should be treated the same."