Good intent leads to a good old mess

Everything has worked fine, until last week when we got a windy day.

The black bins should have been tested in a wind tunnel before distribution.

This might have concluded that a lead weight be incorporated in the design.

However last week's very high wind meant that plastic bottles, baked bean cans, empty plastic milk bottles, drinks cans blown everywhere all over High Wycombe.

Good intent has lead to a good mess.

It must have been the same scene all over the town. What is disappointing though is the public reaction to this mess, in the main, nothing, In Hillary Road, I noticed one bin had spread its nasty mess for 30 yards along the road. A week later the bottles and tins line the gutter - not a very nice sight.

Is it too much for the owner of the black bin, to have gone out and picked their mess up? I know it was not their fault, but the wind's, but basic human tidiness could have prevailed.

In our road, our new neighbour that I have not got to know yet, as they go to work early, and return when it is dark at night, had the same problem.

Their black bin blew across our road scattering the contents all across the road. Cars were stopping and looking at the mess before driving through it. I went out and picked the mass of bottles, dirty cans etc up and put it all back in the bin, and put it out of the wind, so it couldn't happen again. The new neighbours still don't know it happened. It cost me five minutes.and the road was tidy again.

Another matter that surprises me is wheelie bins. For ten years, as soon as ours are empty, I have put all of our six neighbours' bins away, within five minutes of the lorry emptying them. And yet in some road near here, the bins are collected on Thursday, and some wheelie bins are still outside the house on the following Monday.

It seems that some people are too lazy or have no pride in their own environment.

Jim Tanner, Terryfield Road, High Wycombe