BIN-men refused to collect a Newport man's rubbish for five months because it was on his driveway and not the pavement - 12 inches away.

Furious Philip Hodgkins, 55, has been in dispute with Newport city council over the matter since February and said he was only told of the ruling this week.

Mr Hodgkins, of Enville Road, whose wheelie bin was broken in February by bin-men and who has not yet had a replacement, told the Argus: "It's absolutely bonkers."

Mr Hodgkins says he was told he should leave his black plastic bags out and refuse workers would collect them on their rounds every Monday. He left them on the driveway, but they were never collected.

Mr Hodgkins made numerous complaints to the council. Eventually he spoke directly to department head Stephen Davison on July 2, who said he would look into the matter.

Mr Davison later phoned Mr Hodgkins last Wednesday and told him refuse workers had gone to his home but did not pick up the bags.

Mr Hodgkins said: "He told me they couldn't take the rubbish as it was outside my house and not on the pavement. The bags were no more than 12 inches from the pavement."

A spokeswoman for the city council said: "Mr Hodgkins contacted us on several occasions about his refuse and he was advised we would collect it if it was left on the pavement. We have a policy of not collecting rubbish from driveways or gardens as this would take far longer to collect and therefore less cost effective.

"We do make exceptions for residents who have difficulty carrying their rubbish to the kerbside."