Window cleaners left high and dry after binmen dump their cloths

TWO window cleaners were left high and dry on the job . . . after binmen carted off their gear.

Stephen Fawkes and George Millar were in a lather after discovering their bag of expensive cloths had been tipped into the back of a lorry by refuse collection workers.

The pair, who were cleaning windows at a home in John Lang Street, in Johnstone, discovered their scrim cloths had disappeared when they returned to their bucket for fresh water.

And after chasing down a refuse lorry, they claim they were told their cleaning materials had been piled in with the rubbish.

Stephen, 22, said: “I was up the ladder at the front of the house and George was round the back and when I went back to the bucket I noticed our bag of cloths was gone.

“It was then that I spotted the bin lorry up the street and I ran after it and asked the guys if they had lifted a plastic bag from the street.

“It turns out one of the boys had thrown it in the back of the truck, along with the waste from the wheelie bins, thinking it was rubbish that had been left out.

“Needless to say, there was no way we could get the bag back so that was us for the day.

“We couldn’t do any more windows and as we’d only just started the shift we were pretty raging about it.”

Nineteen-year-old George’s dad, Charlie Millar, runs the C&J Cleaning Services business.

He contacted Renfrewshire Council’s environmental department to report the blunder in a bid for compensation for the dumped cloths.

But he had his bubble burst when council chiefs refused to take responsibility for the missing cloths.

Charlie said: “Inside the bag were about 20 scrim cloths worth £5 a time and a few standard cloths so there was at least £100 worth of materials chucked in the back of a bin lorry.

“I don’t understand why anyone would think it was rubbish when they were sitting beside a bucket of water and a spare squeegie.

“However, the council said their guys wouldn’t have touched it because they’re not trained to lift bags. There’s no chance of being refunded. We’ve been left to pick up the tab.”

A Renfrewshire Council spokesperson said: “One of our employees lifted a bag that had been left beside a bin and threw it into the refuse vehicle. The window cleaner approached the employee but told him not to worry as the bag only contained rags. If this wasn’t the case the council has a well-established procedure that people can use to make a claim to our insurance company.”