Binmen to trial high-visibility shorts in Cambridgeshire

Refuse workers modelled the new shorts and the traditional long trousers

Refuse collectors will be showing off their legs this summer, trialling high-visibility shorts for the first time across parts of Cambridgeshire.

Several councils are to allow their workers to wear the new uniform after staff requested cooler clothing following last summer's heatwave.

The trial has been agreed after "extensive preparation" and assessment of the risk of bare legs being cut on broken glass, one council said.

A few UK councils already allow shorts.

Refuse loaders from South Cambridgeshire, Cambridge City and Huntingdonshire councils donned their shorts for the first time on Monday and will be allowed to wear the knee-length attire until October.

Crew member Gordon Cullum said working in last summer's high temperatures had proved "very challenging".

"This has definitely lifted our spirits - it's already feeling a lot cooler for us when we're wearing shorts rather than trousers," he said.

'Risk of shorts'

Rosy Moore, Cambridge City Council's executive councillor for climate change, environment and city centre, said: "The Greater Cambridge shared waste service has more than 150 frontline bin collection staff, with each crew emptying up to 1,300 bins during a typical day."

Each crew member walks the equivalent of about 12 miles (19km) during their shift, a South Cambridgeshire District Council spokesman said.

Huntingdonshire has about 80 staff which collect an average of 23,000 bins a day.

The trial will be "carefully monitored" and the "risk of wearing shorts while emptying bins has been evaluated as part of this process".

"Residents can play their part by keeping glass inside their recycling bin only and not in additional clear sacks," he said.

The spokesman said he was aware of two other councils in the Midlands which currently allow refuse workers to wear shorts, as well as one in Wales and one in Scotland.

The wearing of shorts has proved controversial in the past for rubbish collectors.

In 2005 binmen in Dunfermline threatened industrial action when they were told they could not wear shorts in hot weather.