A NEWTON Abbot woman would like to kick the County Council up the palliasse after being denied entry to the Newton Abbot recycling centre.

Elaine Williams didn’t take it lying down when she wanted to dispose of an unwanted mattress. Instead of leaving it out for the refuse collection, fearing it would be too large, she loaded it onto her shopping trolley, named Little Nellie, and off she tromped all the way through the town centre to the local recycling centre in Brunel Road.

However, once there she found it was a case of turn round.

‘I got to the recycling centre and the guard at the gate said I couldn’t take it through as I was on foot.

‘There is a narrow footpath up to the gate and once you are in the centre you can walk around if you are careful. But he denied me entry in no uncertain terms.

‘He told me to take it away but was so rude about it I know where I wanted to stick it! I was absolutely furious after walking all that way. I didn’t want to fly-tip the mattress, which I no longer need. I thought I was being responsible.

‘I can’t drive myself, so now I’m going to have to go to the expense of finding someone to take it there in a car or van.’

The centre is managed by Devon County Council, and a spokesman said: ‘We’re sorry that the lady has had problems disposing of her mattress. 

‘Unfortunately the approach road to the recycling centre is a private road for all vehicles using the site including Heavy Goods Vehicles, and it’s busy and does not have a pavement, which is why there’s signage at the top indicating that there’s no access for pedestrians.

‘There are alternatives for people who don’t have vehicles and who need to dispose of bulky waste. Their local District Council will have a bulky waste collection service; some retailers will remove old items when delivering new ones; and people often put items they don’t want on sites like Freecycle or Gumtree or donate them to charity.’

Mrs Williams responded: ‘Well, despite what they say there is a footpath, but I thought the sign was to warn you to keep to it and not go in the road. The mattress was in no condition to donate and was only good for dumping.

‘I’ve now had to rearrange for it to be taken by a family member who does have a vehicle.’