Councillors say Holbeach streets went unswept for three weeks

Parish councillors fed up with repeated breakdowns of district council sweepers are upset about Holbeach streets going untouched for three weeks.

South Holland District Council swept the town on Monday and another visit is planned this weekend.

But the absence of street sweeping in town prompted a debate on social media, with comments such as "the machine seems to spend a lot of time broken down".

Parish councillor Graham Rudkin told us: "We have been having straw lorries come through town this last month - when they come through there is straw all over the place.

"I know for a fact that the roads haven't been swept for three weeks and it's just not good enough."

He said the machine had been "playing up" for more than a year and it was time the district council sorted the problem.

Coun Rudkin said: "If the equipment isn't doing the job and keeps breaking down then there's something wrong, isn't there?"

A council spokesman said: “Due to circumstances beyond our control, none of which related to mechanical breakdown, we needed to redeploy our sweeper drivers onto our daily waste collection rounds.

“This meant that there was a short notice change to the normal routine area sweeping. We have tried to keep disruption to a minimum and have made sure that the usual towns and areas still receive the service, albeit at different days or times.

“We apologise for any concern or inconvenience and for the visual impact it has had on the affected areas.

“Our hope is that normal service will be resumed within a few weeks. However, we are now entering the flu and colds season and will always have to prioritise accordingly.”

The spokesman added while the usual routine has been disrupted, Holbeach has been visited this week and will be again at the weekend "so the service has not stopped.”