A GOOD Samaritan who tidied up a churchyard is “livid” after being barred from disposing of the rubbish at a Worcester tip.

Pippa Balch, aged 65, was visiting the graves of her parents, Paul and Jean Houghton, at St Bartholomew’s Church in Grimley, near Worcester, alongside her brother Mark Houghton, when the pair decided to give the area a tidy up.

They spent about 15 minutes and filled at least six rubbish bags with floral debris and waste and put them into Mrs Balch’s horsebox trailer, attached to her car.

The retired nurse then visited Hallow Road Household Recycling Centre with her commercial vehicle and trailer permit to get rid of the rubbish but was “livid” when she discovered that double-axle trailers are not permitted.

County council rules say that double-axle trailers have not been permitted since 2013 but single-axle trailers are allowed with a permit, but are limited to 12 visits per year.

Ms Balch, of Clifton-upon-Teme, said: “You feel so angry – you can understand why flytipping happens, with the small items anyway. I don’t think this has anything to do with safety.

“I have been coming to the tip since it opened, at least 25 years.

“It is the principle, when you are trying to be a good citizen and not leave rubbish. The church gets no money from the Government to pay for waste removal. We were trying to help tidy up the churchyard. I pulled up to where the men were and I got my permit out. One of the men said ‘no twin-axle trailers'. I said ‘since when?’ and he said ‘two-and-a-half years ago’.

“Twin axle trailers have two wheels on each side rather than one wheel on either size. But you can have quite significantly sized single axle trailers – people have them made.”

“The rubbish is still sat in my trailer now. We do have a small single-axle trailer but it is full.”

A spokesman for Worcestershire County Council said: “All residents disposing of waste in a vehicle towing a trailer require a permit, and to acquire this permit residents must confirm they are not using a double-axle trailer.

"All Severn Waste Services site staff enforce this rule and have for the last five years with no concessions given.”