STRESSED and depressed binmen, gardeners and street cleaners are sending a council's sick-rate soaring.

A rise in the number of staff within Blackburn with Darwen Council's direct services department going off on long-term sick leave is being blamed for the authority's failure to hit reduced sickness level targets.

It had hoped to slash the average number of days off from 10.94 days in the year to March 2004 to 8.5 this year.

But in the first nine months of this financial year, the average employee took 8.2 days off.

January to March is the most sickly time of year and if that trend continues, the full year absence rate would be 10.93 days.

Councillors have demanded to know why absence is so high within the direct services department, where staff have averaged 11 days off each from April to December - the second highest of any department.

Today Mark Duckworth, a street cleaner for 16 years, from Blackburn, said the increased stress could be explained by the the job getting tougher.

The 48-year-old from Ravenglass Close said: "Since 1990 and the introduction of cleaning contracts you are supposed to deliver 100 per cent or your job is on the line.

"For me stress is about how you handle it - I take into account the good feedback and stay positive.

"When it used to be just the bag system, they used to finish by 11am but the introduction of the wheelie bins changed that.

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The Lancashire Evening Telegraph revealed last month that an internal council staff survey showed 66per cent of staff felt stress was increasing, while half of line managers had suffered sleepless nights. Donna Hall, executive director for resources, said: "Stress is an issue we take very seriously because of the impact it can have on the services we provide."

Tom Fallows, Blackburn secretary for the GMB union, said: "We are due to meet the council to discuss reasons for sickness, but it is not something we have heard of before."