The burnt-out cabins of bin lorries at Brighton’s main Cityclean depot, Hollingdean (Picture: Eddie Mitchell/Sussex News and Pictures)
Rubbish is piling up as saboteurs are suspected of setting fire to bin lorries and cutting their wires in Brighton.
The burnings are part of a deliberate sabotage campaign that has left dozens of streets with bins overflowing, and roads full of rubbish due to missed collections.
‘We will not be held to ransom by these people, Brighton and Hove Council’s Labour leader Bella Sankey said.
A recent rise in sabotage means the council is no longer able to maintain full bin collection services, the council said.
The sabotage is aimed at the council’s main Cityclean depot, which was described as akin to ‘Animal Farm’ by an independent report into its ‘toxic’ culture last October.
Bins overflowing in Brighton as the city is ‘held to ransom’ by lorry saboteurs (Picture: Argus/Sussex News and Pictures)
Staff at the Hollingdean depot were regularly violent, racist, homophobic and mysogynistic to staff, and one ulnerable worker killed themselves after a confrontation, The Argus reported.
Incidents of deliberate damage to council vehicles and of vehicles found with defects have increased since some Cityclean staff lost their jobs there in October.
The council originally blamed the pile-up of rubbish on two lorries having their wires cut.
But it has now revealed even more damage to its fleet of dustcarts.
A council spokesperson said: ‘Along with the two vehicles with cut wires, we’ve experienced an unprecedented and unexplained number of reported vehicle defects – which we suspect may be intentionally caused.
‘We do have some spare vehicles, but not enough to maintain a full service in the face of the deliberate sabotage the service is experiencing.’
Hove resident Robin Newbold looks at the rubbish strewn along the street (Picture: Argus/Sussex News and Pictures)
Council leader Bella Sankey described the vandalism as unlawful and scandalous.
‘We know the vast majority of Cityclean staff are extremely hard working and want to do an excellent job for our residents and the city.
‘However, the sabotage and resulting disruption of recent weeks show there is a small minority who are disrupting our waste and recycling service.
‘Under my leadership, we will not be held to ransom by these people.
‘Ensuring we have a waste and recycling service that keeps our city clean and tidy is an absolute priority for myself and the leadership of the council.
‘We’re taking the necessary steps to find out who is responsible for this illegal sabotage and they will face the most serious disciplinary action.’
Sussex Police are investigating the damaged bin lorries.
Overflowing rubbish bins on a Brighton street (Picture: Argus/Sussex News and Pictures)
Four new zero-emission bin lorries bought by the council will be delivered in the coming weeks, Labour councillor Tim Rowkins said at a council meeting on Tuesday.
But one local resident said this has been a problem since he moved into his Tisbury Road home in Hove two years ago.
‘It’s a recurring problem’, he said. ‘I think when Labour got in it improved for a little while but it has gone back to how it was before.
‘It’s not just the rubbish they don’t pick up, the streets seem to be covered in rubbish.
‘They keep the seafront pristine which is great but residents living in these streets are paying the council tax and the streets are filthy.
‘They are not doing their jobs. They leave crap all over the place.
Peter Kyle, Labour MP for Hove, said he was proud of the council’s efforts of ‘rooting out the problems at Cityclean’ and said there needs to be a ‘final push’ to make it fit for purpose and improve services for residents.
Last October, a 17-page report by King’s Counsel Aileen McColgan revealed a ‘toxic’ culture at Cityclean’s Hollingdean depot in Brighton.
Over three months, the report heard from 70 witnesses from all levels within the Cityclean refuse service.
It detailed 13 problems at the bin depot which was described as being like ‘Animal Farm’.
Workers at the depot went on strike for more than two weeks in October 2021, leaving rubbish piling up on the city’s streets.
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