MORE blame has been heaped on City of York Council's controversial fortnightly bin collections, after another rat found its way into overflowing rubbish.

Now Stuart Handy, of Deanhead Grove, Clifton Moor, York, has been forced to ask the council for a new bin, after a rodent's sharp teeth gnawed right through the lid.

Stuart, 40, said at the time of the incident the lid on his grey bin had not shut properly because of the amount of waste inside. He described how he was disposing rubbish when he spotted the animal sitting there.

"It looked at me, I looked at it," he said. "I was surprised more than anything. You don't expect two little glinting eyes looking at you when you're looking into a bin."

He said the animal later escaped after gnawing through several inches of bin lid.

Earlier this month, we reported how Gemma Faulkner, of Osbaldwick, had a live rat removed from her bin.

A spokeswoman commented that the incident was an "unusual case".

Stuart has backed our Bin It! campaign to restore weekly household waste collections, while supporting recycling measures - but added he was relieved weekly collections were now back until February.

He said: "When you look down the street, everyone's bins are overflowing. I used to take garden waste to the tip. What I'm now doing is taking household waste to the tip in my car."

A council spokeswoman said Stuart should be receiving a new bin either this weekend or the one after.

She said: "It is important for people to keep their bin lids closed, to prevent rats and other pests from being attracted to them.

"Smellier items of food waste, such as meat, fish or pet food, should be wrapped if possible, which will

help to prevent the smell escaping, and keep the inside of the bin cleaner.

"If Mr Handy or any other residents are having difficulty fitting rubbish into their grey bin, the council's recycling promoters would be more than happy to visit them and offer advice. Anyone who is interested should phone the York Pride Action Line on 01904 551551."

Updated: 11:10 Friday, December 09, 2005