A town centre neighbour has thanked hardworking bin men for going above and beyond to tidy his street after Storm Isha.

Strong winds caused havoc around Swindon by scattering bags full of rubbish and recycling far and wide, turning clean neighbourhoods into unsightly messes.

Iain Smith, of Dean Street, kept track of Swindon Borough Council waste collection crews' attempts to clear up their routes and was grateful to see that, within a few days, they had restored his street to its pre-storm condition.

He wrote: "Friday, January 19, was bin day for the street I live in.

"Recycling to be precise. Friday came and went but not the bin men.

"Storm Isha however did decide to investigate, sort and distribute the plastic, paper and cardboard up and down the street.

"Walking along the street on Monday morning, I was greeted by the sad sight of seeing what felt like rubbish everywhere, though in reality, most was limited to the gutters.

"Mid-morning on Tuesday, January 23, I heard the noise of the bin lorry and could see wet and wind-sweep bin men collecting the recycling.

"Even some of the larger pieces of cardboard blown down the street were collected.

"However the rubbish in the gutter remained untouched - understandable with the time they have to complete their rounds.

"Then about an hour later, I spotted a flash of Day-Glo orange through the front door glass. Looking out, I saw a young man kitted head to touch in orange collecting that rubbish from the gutter.

"I stepped outside and thanked him for his efforts as he left a filled black bin bag by my gate for later collection, which it was, and started filling another.

"Due to his effort, the street now looks very much like it did before storm Isha. Clean and tidy.

"So first, my thanks to whoever organised that young man and second, my thanks again, but in writing this time, to that young man. Sadly I forgot to ask his name so I can’t thank him by name.

"And finally, a thought on the elephant in the room.

"There have been several articles in the SA recently about bin collection with the usual finger pointing by the old and new councillors.

"My suggestion would be to speak to those with feet on the ground, yep the bin men themselves, and get their thoughts on what is and what isn’t working.

"We might just all get some surprising results going forward."