A WOMAN searching for her missing bin was stunned when she discovered CCTV footage which showed a binman chucking it into the back of a wagon and driving off.

Laura Jaques, 36, of William Street, in Bishop Auckland, was then left outraged when she was told by council officers she must foot the bill for a replacement bin herself.

The mother-of-three turned detective when she went to collect her refuse bin and noticed it had vanished.

After issuing a Facebook appeal she discovered at least six bins on the street had also disappeared. Laura was contacted by a neighbour whose property is fitted with a camera which overlooks her back yard.

The footage showed a binman empty her bin of rubbish before throwing it in the back of his wagon.

The cleaning firm owner said she had been told by Durham County Council, which has since said they are looking into the incident as a ‘matter of urgency’, she must pay £20 for a replacement.

Ms Jaques has been forced to take rubbish to her mother’s and partner’s mother’s houses since the incident last Wednesday.

She said the incident followed the council sending residents a letter stating households were entitled to have one general rubbish bin unless there are more than five people in their household and that it would be taking any extra bins away.

She claimed one of her neighbours has also lost a bin was pregnant and her household would increase to seven in a matter of weeks.

Ms Jaques added: “It is absolutely ridiculous. The council is always banging on about recycling, but those bins will just go to landfill. I have phoned them to complain, but they haven’t given me any answers.

“They say that the any extra bins collected would not have been taken away separately, and not by the binmen. But I have the proof of what has happened to my bin.

“£20 is a not that much money, but it is the principal of it. I think if people want two bins they should be able to have them. It’s far better than having rubbish lying around in back yards iron the streets.”

Durham County Council confirmed that households with less than six people are given one waste and one recycling bin. Residents can apply for an additional waste bin and a recycling bin if there are six or more people permanently living in the property.

A council spokesman said: “We were most concerned to receive this film footage, which we are looking into as a matter of urgency as, clearly, wheelie bins should not be thrown into the back of refuse vehicles.

“Several properties in the area have received letters asking them to get in touch with us about the number of bins they have. Any spare bins should not have been dealt with in this way.

“We would like to thank the member of the public for bringing this to our attention. We will be contacting her and if it is found we have disposed of her bin, as appears to be the case, we will ensure that it is replaced.

“We would also like to reiterate, that we expect all of our customer services to be delivered to the highest possible standard and pride ourselves on doing a good job.

“If we ever fall short, the public can be reassured that there will be a full and thorough investigation as there will be in this case.”