THERE'S just one month left this year for residents to get rid of their bulky rubbish free of charge thanks to Operation Springclean. People living in Radcliffe and Bury will be the last in 1999 to be offered the opportunity at four sessions this month starting this weekend.

Hundreds of tons of rubbish have been collected over the last four months since town hall bosses brought back the scheme to collect bulky waste.

They spent £24,000 bringing back Operation Springclean, which had been shelved three years ago through lack of cash. Now they have to find the cash to keep it going next year.

Councillor Julie Higson, chairman of best value and competitiveness, said: "Operation Springclean has been running right through the spring and summer and into the autumn.

"Its success is obvious to see. October will be the last month of collection in 1999 and then we will have to give serious consideration to the future.

"That may mean bringing back Operation Springclean for the new Millennium, or finding an alternative which would allow residents to get rid of their bulky waste easily."

Times and dates for the last clean-ups are:

October 2/3 - Cross Lane/Withins area, Radcliffe. Skips will be in the grounds of Radcliffe Boys' Club at Withins Avenue; alongside the grassed area at North Street at its junction of Ruskin Street; at the corner of the recreation area at Fletcher Street/Bright Street; and on the road by the grassed area at Hutchinson Street.

October 9/10 - Brandlesholme/Woodhill area, Bury. Skips can be found near the play area on Woodhill Road; at the bottom of Garside Hey Road; and on Woodhill Road and at Lindow Close.

October 16/17 - Littlewood estate/Hornby Street area, Bury. They will be in the car parking area opposite numbers 11-21 Spinney Drive; outside number 53 Eastham Avenue; on spare land at the side of 27 Victor Avenue; and on the road alongside Old Church at Canning Street.

October 23/24 - Chesham Fold estate, Bury. Skips will be situated in Chesham Fold Road; outside number 37 Kingfisher Drive; in the cul-de-sac near 17 Bullfinch Drive; and outside 40 Goldfinch Drive.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.