COUNCIL street cleaners left a city street filthier than they found it after accidentally dumping a mass of stinking rubbish from their lorry.
The bungling crew were trying to drain excess water in an Edinburgh street when the mishap occurred.
The Edinburgh council truck poured a vile tidal wave of liquefied garbage on to upmarket Lauriston Gardens on Sunday.
The red-faced council workers’ day got even worse when they had to scoop up the festering mass.
The road sweeper was parked on the street and trying to drain water before it returned to its depot.
In scenes worthy of a Laurel and Hardy movie, the team tried to pour the water down the drain using a valve at the front of the vehicle.
The valve then became clogged, so the crew lifted the back of the vehicle in a bid to remove the blockage.
This “solution” ended in disaster when a tidal wave of rubbish also cascaded from the road sweeper.
Kenneth Ritchie, a 38-year-old oil engineer, saw the scene from his second floor window.
He said: “I am frankly appalled by this conduct, this guy was dumping waste water down the drain at the front.
“All of a sudden the back tips up and dumps it on to our street. He has opened all the hatches then got back in the truck and tried to sweep it up without much success.
A spokeswoman for the City of Edinburgh Council said: “It is common practice to drain away any excess water collected during street cleaning and this is normally done by releasing a valve.
“On this occasion, the valve became choked and the back of the vehicle had to be lifted to unblock it.
“Some of the collected waste spilled out and the driver immediately cleaned it up.
“This was unavoidable and we are satisfied that the member of staff took the correct action. The drains have been checked to ensure that this has not caused a blockage and they are clear.”
