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COUNCILS have vowed to crack down on residents who abuse refuse workers yesterday after an increase in assaults.
Figures released under the Freedom of Information Act show there were 117 attacks in 2012, rising to 159 in 2013.
That has soared to a troubling 309 incidents this year as residents fly into a rage over stricter refuse and recycling rules.
Some incidents involved weapons and racial abuse.
A resident in Wirral threatened refuse collectors with a gun, while in Birmingham a crew were set upon by a homeowner wielding a samurai sword.
A crew in Nottinghamshire were pelted with rubbish by a man chasing them down the road shouting and swearing after they had refused to take his recycling bin because it had too many wrong items.
A spokesman for the Local Government Association said: “Abuse and assaults are utterly unacceptable and councils will push for the strongest possible action from the courts to protect their staff, including jail sentences.”
