Council sorry over cemetery bins '˜overflow'

The woman, who had contacted council officials to report her concerns,had called on Mid & East Antrim Council to clarify who is responsible for collections.She said: “I visited the cemetery on Mothering Sunday to discover rubbish lying beside the bins which were overflowing. This is the third time I have been since Christmas.

“After that I emailed the council and received a reply informing me that ‘we have passed this onto our Parks department who will liaise with the crew in order to get the bins emptied’ and that I would be notified when the rubbish is emptied.

“This email was sent on Sunday past and since then I have spoken to one council official but he was unable to clarify the matter of responsibility. I find this very distressing and disappointing as previously this cemetery was always kept to a high standard.

“I visited the cemetery and took some pictures on Thursday afternoon to illustrate the mess which was confronting visitors to the cemetery.”

On Monday afternoom, the Council responded: “Mid and East Antrim Borough Council would like to apologise for the situation at the Cushendall Road cemetery.

“It is a matter of regret that we have not on this occasion managed to maintain the normally high standard of waste management and cleanliness as usual at such facilities across the Borough.

“Additional work has therefore been put in hand to clear the materials that have accumulated – especially so after the very busy period around Mothering Sunday.”