A DISABLED father has expressed disgust after he returned from an eight-week hospital stay to discover his food waste had gone uncollected.

Retired police officer Jeffrey Clease, 64, of Avon Close, Cadoxton, Barry, found the stewed food where he had left it for collection before he had been admitted into hospital care in the University Hospital of Wales and Llandough Hospitals.

Mr Clease, son of former Barry Town Council mayor Harry Clease, said he had rung the Vale council to report the missed collection, but claimed a contact centre operator had told him he could not speak to someone in what he called the ‘refuse’ department, because no such department existed, and the container would need to be cleaned out by himself.

He claimed she then hung up on his call.

The Vale council disputed the call termination claim and said the food waste was collected an hour after they received a call about it.

Blue badge holder Mr Clease, who avidly recycles and has invested in his own wheelie bin, said he didn’t think he was going to leave hospital, at one point, and return to living in his adapted bungalow.

“When I was in hospital I was asking about the house.

“They had to collect the black bags and the food waste bin.”

He said the black bags had been collected.

But he said he was disgusted when he opened the green bin.

“I’ve seen dead bodies in my time and I couldn’t even look.

“It was horrible after eight weeks.

“They are supposed to collect that every week on a Tuesday,” he said.

He added: “I asked to be put through to the department that deals with refuse and there’s no such animal.

“I got very flustered because of my illness.

“We all know mistakes happen, but just collect it.”

Mr Clease’s young carer offered to deal with the decaying waste, but Mr Clease told her it was not her job to deal with it.

Mr Clease’s son Tristan, 33, said he rang the council to explain the situation and the condition of the food waste bin, the smell, and that his disabled father was unable to deal with the problem.

“The recycling bags had deteriorated and the men would not collect the waste. My father was being punished for someone not collecting the bag.

“It was disgusting and it smelled.”

A Vale of Glamorgan Council spokesman said: “We have a record of only one call received from Mr Clease, which was not terminated prematurely.

“Comments made during that conversation were noted and he was subsequently delivered a new caddy, while the old one was removed.”