LOADERS pinned to the side of bin lorries, cars mounting the kerb, verbal abuse and broken glass are just some of the hazards faced by Forest refuse collection teams on a daily basis.

But despite these risks, the 60 staff at the Cinderford Biffa depot have have raised £635 for charity through 516 days without any sick leave or accidents.

The company decided to motivate their staff by donating £5 for every day without a 'lost time accident'.

Depot manager Martin Jones said: "Sickness levels have definitely gone down since they brought the charity scheme in and we donated the money to the Air Ambulance.

"We are very health and safety conscious and give a lot of training because this is a very dangerous industry."

Even the lorries are high tech with computer systems and cameras on board. If someone has not put out their rubbish or a road is closed, the crew records it in case of complaints or questions.

However, Mr Jones says it is difficult to avoid incidents with motorists despite the company's commitment to staff safety training.

"We would like to get the message out to the public that there are not many jobs which are as dangerous as being a refuse operative. We had a fatality about two and a half years ago when a loader was knocked down on the A417 at Redmarley. He was treated by the Air Ambulance but didn't make it," he said.

"About a year ago in Tiberton a truck was working on a narrow road when a car drove up onto the pavement and pinned the loader to the side of the truck with his bags.

"The driver didn't stop and left the loader lying on the floor. He was taken to hospital with bad bruising and took a couple of weeks to recover. The incident was reported to the police, but the driver was never found."

In another incident a woman in a 4x4 mounted a kerb in Sedbury to pass a refuse truck, shouting that she had to take her children to school and making a rude gesture to the crew.

"We try to be very public friendly, but unfortunately you do get a lot of selfish people who have no patience and take our guys for granted."

It is not only angry drivers that create dangers for the long-suffering rubbish collectors.

Mr Jones continued: "We get a lot of problems with glass and syringes and knives in black sacks. Recently a lady put a smashed mirror in a plastic bag, but luckily someone noticed it in time, so we did not collect it.

"We informed the council and went back to explain the situation to the lady who was very pleasant about it."