BEFORE the 1970s, when the vast majority of households were converted to North Sea gas, over 90 per cent used some form of solid fuel for heating their homes and water, while also using their fires to dispose of rubbish which could be burned.

This, in turn, led to the production of lots of ashes, which were then deposited into a heavy metal dustbin. Once a week, usually without fail, the council's refuse collection vehicles would come to empty them.

The operatives used to collect the bins from inside the back yards and after emptying them, replaced them in the correct yard and sometimes even placed the lid back on top.

Nowadays, even though the bins are plastic, have wheels on and the lifting is done by equipment on the truck, the long-suffering, over-taxed householder not only has to place the bin outside their yard -- leave it inside and it remains untouched -- but they also have to take them back in.

People pay council tax for their properties, not the back street! And surely the council's responsibility is for the premises' rubbish, not the back streets.

Surely the council could go half-way in easing the problem, by having the householders placing their full bins out for collection, with the council putting the empty bin back into the relevant yard?

Obviously, this solution will not suit the bean counters employed by the council, but I think it would suit the majority of households affected.

HARRY ROBINSON, Juniper Court, Woodside Road, Accrington.