A NEWPORT resident has hit out at the council after a computer error saw the council fail to undertake prepaid collections this week.

Helen Atwick-Stephens, of Duffryn, paid £18 on Monday to have a three piece sofa, along with a table and chairs, collected from her front garden on Wednesday. But workers failed to arrive.

When she phoned the contact centre to find out what had happened, the 41-year-old Newport City Homes resident says she was told that the council wouldn’t be taking her items away and that she would have to go elsewhere.

She said: “I rang them at around 3pm on Wednesday, as they hadn’t come, to be told they were going to refund me my money and I would have to go elsewhere.

“I’ve had things removed from my property from them about 20 or 30 times, and I’ve lived here 16 years.”

Today, Newport City Council said a technical issue had led to customer collections being disrupted.

They also said they are working to bring the service back.

A spokeswoman for Newport City Council said: "Newport City Council would like to apologise to customers who have faced delays or cancellations when using its bulky items collection service.

"Due to a technical problem, the service was disrupted meaning some collections were booked but then not made. This IT problem only came to light on Wednesday.

"Customers affected are being offered refunds. The council apologises for any inconvenience this has caused and is working hard to bring the bulky items collection service back next week."

Despite the refund, Mrs Atwick-Stephens believes she may now have to pay considerably more if normal service does not resume soon and she has to hire a van to take the items to the tip herself.

“I used to work for a company before and had to go to the tip once in a van to drop some items off. It cost me £35 just to get in, which is absolutely ridiculous," she said. It could cost me more than triple the amount to get it removed."