Horsham man’s disbelief at ‘horrific’ tip queue more than an hour long

Paul Buttle, 41, said the queues at the Hop Oast recycling centre were ‘horrific’ during his visit on Monday.

He said: “It’s just an awful, awful place. I couldn’t believe it. It was absolutely horrific.

“I came in from Horsham. When I left the queue was going back to the dual carriageway which is ridiculous really.”

Paul, who runs a video game website, told the County Times he queued for about an hour and a quarter before officials checked his ID – something which he said should have been done when he first drove into the centre.

He added: “I can see why people fly tip to be honest. Having to go through that rigmarole just to drop off a few boxes. I won’t be using it again I’ll be going somewhere else.”

Paul said it was ‘so frustrating’ he had to spend his entire lunch break at the tip.

He called for infrastructure to be prioritised before further houses are built in the town.

Horsham District currently has a housing target of several hundred homes a year.

A spokeswoman for West Sussex County Council said: “The Horsham Household Waste Recycling Site is busier than normal due to the partial closure of the Crawley site and distancing measures in place at all sites.

“The number of vehicles entering the site are limited to ensure safety.

“The full reopening of the Crawley site next month will alleviate some of the issues and we are reminding residents to only visit sites if absolutely necessary.”

Horsham District Council has been approached for comment.