Poor Mrs Beryl Mepham could hardly move for empty bottles.
There they were-at least 240 of them waiting to be collected from her backyard.
And all because of a successful takeover bid.

Until a year ago the empties from her confectionary and tobacco shop in ferry road, Shoreham, were collected regularly by R White and Sons Ltd., a Brighton firm in Eastern Road,which had supplied all her soft drinks.

“Then they were taken over by the Whitbread group “explained Mrs Mepham”. And since then no one has been to collect the bottles. Now there’s such a large pile I can’t clear the yard. I’m also owed 3d on each bottle,”
Though she now buys her drink from another firm, the bottles are all stamped “R White.” Despite repeated appeals from Mrs Mepham, nobody ever arrived to take them away.

A Whitbread spokesman was quick to give Action Lines mobile unit an assurance that the bottles would be collected. “Leave the Matter to me.” he said “I’ll send a lorry round in the next few days, and of course, she’ll get her money back.