PARISH councillors in Haydon Wick have been inundated with calls from residents shocked to discover that the bins at the parish’s two recycling sites have been removed without warning.

For the past few days people have been taking their rubbish to the ‘Bring’ sites at the Haydon Centre and at the Orbital Shopping Park as normal, only to find that some of the bins had disappeared.

As a result, residents have been leaving their rubbish in the vacant spaces, which councillors are concerned could lead to a serious fly-tipping problem.

Linda Brown, chairman of the Haydon Wick Parish Council, said: “We discovered last year that the borough council would be moving the ‘Bring’ sites from across the town.

“We thought they would be here for a couple more weeks yet, but they have now disappeared. There has been no warning from the borough telling us that they would be going now, and people have been dumping their rubbish.

“A lot of concerned residents have been ringing the parish office trying to find out where they have gone.”

Since January the borough has been in contact with the Haydon Wick Parish Council regarding the removal of the bins.

But the parish council, worried about the cost of running the sites, declined to take them over.

Linda said: “We currently spend the parish precept on our parishioners. But the nature of the Haydon Centre and the Orbital means that people come in from outside the parish and there’s no way of controlling such an unmanned facility.”

Together, the two sites cost around £7,000 to run each year.

Jamie Turner, centre manager at the Orbital Shopping Park, said: “We were expecting the bins to be moved from April 1.

"We expected notices to go up, giving people information and letting them know of the changes. But for some reason or another they have started to be taken away already.

“As a result, we are seeing a bit of a fly tipping problem. Luckily we have a great parish council and they have been around to collect the rubbish, but it could well be affecting other areas of the town and could cause more queues at the main recycling centre.”

A Swindon Borough Council spokesman said: “Unfortunately, some of our recycling sites were removed prematurely as we had hoped to provide ample warning for those residents that use the sites.

“Posters advising residents of the changes went up yesterday and any waste that has since accumulated will be collected.

"We will continue to monitor the situation, but we would like to remind people that fly-tipping waste is irresponsible and costs the council and parish councils considerable sums of money to clear up.

“Waste must be disposed of responsibly and, if we can obtain evidence of fly tipping, we will prosecute those responsible.

“Residents can still take their waste to the Household Waste Recycling Centre in Cheney Manor industrial estate or dispose of it as part of their scheduled recycling collection.”