Concern as cows eat rubbish near common

Cattle knocking over wheelie bins

COWS have been grazing on heaps of household rubbish, after a change in the refuse collection regime.

The scenes have upset some residents of Down View and also the licensee of The Downgate pub on the edge of Hungerford Common.

One resident said the situation was caused by the landlord, the Town and Manor of Hungerford, insisting they place their green bins at a special collection point by 7am rather than having them collected, as before, from outside their homes.

Licensee of The Downgate, David Yates, said: “I alerted the Town and Manor because, not only is it disgusting for my customers to wade through, but they also have to look at it from my garden.

“It’s not the first time it’s happened recently and it can’t be doing the cows any good to be eating plastic bags and rubbish.”

A resident said the problem had been caused because the Town and Manor had insisted that, instead of having the bins collected from their homes, they must bring them, by 7am on collection day, to a spot in the corner of the car park.

They pointed out that some people worked shifts or sometimes worked away from home and could not always rise before 7am to walk their bins to the collection point.

The Constable of the Town and Manor, Ellie Dickins, acknowledged the problem but said a solution acceptable to all parties was being considered.

She explained that there was concern about potential damage caused by large refuse lorries having to back up beside individual homes.

Mrs Dickins said residents had been asked instead to place their bins out on the corner of the road on the collection morning.

However, she said: “The cattle knocked over wheelie bins belonging to the residents of Down View and, curious as they are, dragged the litter out.

“Residents need to put their bins out on the corner of the highway the morning of collection.

“With bins being put out earlier than this – for example, the day before – the cattle come and have a forage.

“As with all householders, it’s standard practice to put bins out at 7am on the morning of collection.”

She went on: “This is a prime example of why visitors, walkers and residents on the common should not litter.

“Not only is it an eyesore, but it endangers wildlife and harms the environment.”

Nevertheless, said Mrs Dickins, the Town and Manor was exploring the possibility of providing a corral for the bins to prevent the cows accessing the area and to allow residents to place them out the night before.

A spokesman for West Berkshire Council, Martin Dunscombe, said: “We have not told residents to leave their bins anywhere in particular – it’s up to residents where they keep them.

“We will collect bins from outside homes or communal areas as long as it is safe for us to do so and this includes reversing the bin lorry up that road.”