A council tenant was left without her baby son’s pushchair and tricycle for six days after blundering workers removed them from outside her flat, instead of the piles of rubbish she had initially complained about.
Haley Canning, 30, of Longlands, was so fed up with unwanted items clogging up the communal hallways of her apartment block that she repeatedly asked Dacorum Borough Council to remove them.
But on Wednesday morning Haley, who was at home recovering from an operation, found a notice left outside her front door saying her one-year-old son Ethan’s possessions had been removed. A pile of junk including a full carrier bag and cardboard box had, however, been left.
Haley said: “People are always dumping things in the communal area and I have complained to the council numerous times.
“I then find a notice saying they have taken items that belong to me but left the rubbish there – it is completely outrageous. They have taken things that clearly belong to a child.”
Haley says Ethan’s pushchair and trike are only left near her door for short periods of time until her partner is able to bring them in.
She added: “I understand there are rules but if they had at least knocked or posted the notice through the door this whole thing could have been avoided. And the rubbish was still there, I couldn’t believe it. They have to use a little bit of common sense.”
Tenants and leaseholders group manager Andy Vincent said: “The tenancy agreement that all council tenants sign up to clearly states that items must not be stored in communal areas. Stored items and rubbish are cleared from communal areas by separate council teams. The rubbish was removed by the council’s cleaning team the next morning.”
Haley was able to collect the items from the council on Monday and was not charged the standard £15 rate.