A FRUSTRATED resident has called on the council to fix the mess it made after the grass verge outside his house was repeatedly damaged by rubbish trucks.

Michael Whittaker, 49, of Abbey Meads, says he feels as if the situation he finds himself in is a repeat of the same issue he dealt with last year – however 12 months on he is finding that Swindon Borough Council are no longer willing to help.

The house that Michael has called home since 2000 lies on a curve in the road with a turfed central island, much like a roundabout.

He says that in the years since he moved in, the vast majority of vehicles have managed to negotiate the turn without leaving big ruts in the ground.

Only those getting behind the wheel of the council waste trucks in the past two years seem incapable of doing the same.

“It’s clearly not an issue for delivery drivers from any other company or even for some of the council drivers,” said Michael.

“It’s not as if the driver is just clipping or mounting the curb, they’re driving over it.

“The land is council owned but my frustration is that I’ve maintained it for the past 16 or 17 years.

“I’ve planted it and mowed it in the past.

“It looks like the driver is either too lazy to negotiate the corner another way or that they just don’t care about the environment we have to live in.”

When the rubbish trucks caused the same issue last year at this time, the council agreed to send out a grounds team to put the mess right.

But this year Michael has not received the same co-operation.

“I complained when it happened two weeks ago and was told the driver would be spoken to about it,” he explained.

“But then it happened again during the next visit.

“Ironically when we spoke to a manager at the council he explained that he used to drive the same route so he knew the turn could be made.”

Now Michael is calling on the council to have a re-think and fix the damage its drivers have caused.

“Why should we have to put this right?” he asked.

“You’ve also got to wonder how many other parts of Swindon the driver is doing this in - I’d be amazed if this is the tightest turn he has to negotiate on his route.”

A spokesman for Swindon Borough Council said: “Our refuse trucks are large vehicles and, unfortunately, there are occasions when manoeuvring them can be difficult, particularly in narrow streets.

“This is one of those occasions and we will ask our driver to take extra care in future.”