A bin worker allegedly urinated on a resident's driveway while collecting her bins. 

A resident in South Woodham Ferrers said that on Wednesday morning (July 2), she spotted a bin collection worker urinating into a hedge on her driveway.

Chelmsford City Council's recycling team has apologised to the resident following the incident and said that an investigation was underway.

Roy Whitehead, leader of the Conservatives and opposition on the council, said: "It's an unusual one; in all my time, I don't remember seeing any allegation of that type made.

"I guess the council has done what it can in the sense that it has apologised. It is an allegation, but it's not the sort of allegation someone is going to make lightly, really, and therefore, one assumes there is some substance to it.

"These days, there seem to be more allegations around, I suppose due to social media and so on, but in this particular case, there's no benefit to the resident from making such an allegation. It's an unpleasant situation. There is a disciplinary procedure the council has and it's one that needs to be followed." 

Bob Massey, Conservative councillor for South Woodham Chetwood and Collingwood, added: "It sounds like the council has got it covered, behaviour of this sort is completely unacceptable. I look forward to the council investigating these allegations fully and acting accordingly. If the allegation is proven, then it's totally unacceptable.

"If it happened on my drive, I'd be mortified. It probably also highlights a lack of public facilities locally, I'm trying to think from The Chase, the nearest public conveniences are probably in Sainsbury's, which is a heck of a diversion for a waste collector." 

A spokesman for Chelmsford Council said: "This behaviour is not acceptable, and we take complaints of this kind very seriously. Our recycling team has apologised to the resident who reported this to us and we will take whatever action is needed once our investigation into this incident has concluded."