A wheelchair user says he is repeatedly left trapped in his own home by waste collectors blocking his only exit with his wheelie bin.

Mike Beeforth, 40, has been disabled since he was involved in a car accident as a young child - and uses ramps to get in and out of his home in Borstal Hill, Whitstable.

Yet he says Serco workers - contracted by the city council to manage waste collection across the district - have continued to place bins at the bottom of his ramp, despite countless complaints.

Canterbury City Council has now apologised to Mr Beeforth and reminded crews of the “correct arrangements”.

Mr Beeforth said: “I’ve got a big American car and where I park it allows enough room for me to get past it.

“The bins are put out straight at the top of the driveway, where they aren’t in my way.

“But instead of putting them back to where they had found them, the binmen just dump them next to my car - leaving it impossible for me to get past to leave my property.

“Sometimes they literally leave them at the bottom of the ramp so I can’t even get onto the drive..." Mike Beeforth

“They don’t bother to take a few more steps up the drive to put them back when they leave.

“It’s really frustrating. I can’t get out if I’m on my own - if my wife’s at work or something.

“Sometimes they literally leave them at the bottom of the ramp so I can’t even get onto the drive.

“So if I wanted or needed to get out I wouldn’t be able to. Luckily it hasn’t happened yet on a day when I’ve urgently needed to leave the house.

“But it’s going to come to a point where I do.”

Mr Beeforth, who lives with his wife and two stepchildren, says he is worried what would happen in the event of a fire or emergency.

“Especially if I’m here on my own with my children,” he added. “I don’t want to come across as a moaner, but it’s got to the point now where I just want them to stop doing it. I’ve even got a sticker on my bin which says ‘AC’ - assisted collection.

“Sometimes I’ve seen them doing it, and have called out to the binmen to ask them not to and they’ve said ‘really sorry mate’. But the crews seem to change.”

Mr Beeforth says he and his wife have contacted Serco countless times about the problem.

"I just want them to stop doing it..." Mr Beeforth

“We’ve spoken to them so many times over the last 10 years, on and off. In the last year, my wife has probably called them up six or seven times.

“Sometimes they stop doing it for a week or a month, then it goes back to normal again. It would just be nice if when they changed the crews they said ‘just put the bin back where you found it’. It would take two seconds.”

A Canterbury City Council spokesman said: “We apologise to Mr Beeforth for the problems he’s having with his collections.

“All the crews have been reminded of the correct arrangements at this property and supervisors will monitor the situation closely.”

Read more: All the latest news from Whitstable