AN elderly mother who cares for her disabled daughters says she now has 100 bags of waste in her shed after being refused a second wheelie bin.

Maureen Carr, 72, of Great Clacton, provides around-the-clock care for her two daughters who both live with disabilities.

As a result of the volume of medical products she has to use, Maureen often accumulates as many as ten full rubbish bags of clinical waste every week.

Maureen said refuse collectors previously did not have a problem with the number of bags she would want taken away from her property.

But since Tendring Council rolled-out its wheelie bin initiative last summer, Maureen has only been able to dispose of five bags per pick-up as that is all she can fit in.

This has left Maureen with five bags left over every week, which also isn’t helped by the fact the scheme has moved homeowners to fortnightly collections.

Maureen asked the council for a second bin in June, but says she was initially refused because she only has a total of three people living in her property.

She said: “I am a pensioner with two grown-up daughters who are disabled and we were told we didn’t qualify for another bin.

“I felt let down and I was half angry and half dismayed because my circumstances here are stressful and this was just adding to it.

“We now have around 100 bags in our shed, which have been piling up since the summer and the smell is horrendous.”

In a bid to make councillors sit up and take notice of her situation, Maureen voiced her concerns to Clacton MP Giles Watling.

On her behalf, Mr Watling contacted Tendring Council’s street scene manager Jon Hamlet.

The response, which came in October, was positive and Maureen said she was told they would be able to get her a second wheelie-bin.

But three months after the response, Maureen was still left waiting.

“We heard nothing, and I was the end of my tether,” she said.

“They promised me a second bin, but I still didn’t get one.”

The Gazette contacted Tendring Council on Maureen’s behalf.

Will Lodge, Tendring Council communications manager, said a second wheelie bin will now be delivered to Maureen.

“The non-delivery of the second bin had not been flagged until this time, and we are now putting this right,” he said.

“A second bin will be delivered shortly, along with provision to collect any backlog of waste which has built up in this time.

“We apologise for the inconvenience this has caused.”