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Residents had complained to various authorities for more than a month about rubbish piling up on a Ponsonby street - and nothing was done. But the pile, at the corner of Collingwood St and Ponsonby Rd, was cleared by Auckland City Council within hours of a Herald report.
Resident Graham Fox, one of the complainants, said he was surprised to find the rubbish gone at 10am yesterday. "Amazing what a bit of publicity can do," he said. "Unfortunately, I wasn't there to see who did the collecting."
A council spokesman said on Sunday night that the residents were owed an apology because the length of time it took the council to respond to their complaints was "unacceptable".
