A binman has described being stunned to find children hiding in a wheelie bin he was about to empty into his ltruck.

Dave Pyne, who has worked as an HGV driver for a waste management firm for the last 16 years in north Wales, said he was emptying a cardboard recycling bin in Wrexham when he found two young children asleep inside it.

The 65-year-old recounted the concerning incident as he revealed he had seen a rise in the number of people sleeping inside bins or using them as shelter.

"The most worrying incident was in Wrexham two years ago. I was emptying a cardboard recycling bin, and something just didn't feel right, Mr Pyne told North Wales Live.

(Image: NorthWalesLive/ WS)

"My sixth sense said to check it, so I opened the lid, and as I started to move pieces around, I couldn't believe what I saw.

"Inside were two young kids sleeping, a boy and a girl. They must have only been nine or 10.

"I woke them up, and they were so scared, they jumped out and ran off. I reported it to social services, but I never heard anything back."

Mr Pyne spoke to North Wales Live after a report from the Waste Management Company Biffa revealed a shocking surge in rough sleepers using bins as shelter.

At least seven people are known to have been killed in the last five years because they were sleeping in bins, according to a Health and Safety executive.

From April to December 2019, Biffa employees recorded 109 "near misses" or encounters with people either sleeping in or near its bins.

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The increase in rough sleepers discovered in wheelie bins is being linked to the increasing rise of homelessness across the UK.

Mr Pyne added that when he works near shopping centres or businesses, they won't always find a person, but they often find evidence of someone having been in the bin not long before.

He said: "Sometimes we find blankets and belongings or fresh food wrappers.

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"I encourage everyone I work with to always check the bin, and you would never forgive yourself if you didn't, and there was a person inside.

"Once that bin is emptied into the truck it's too late. There is a blade inside that cuts through the rubbish. A person would be crushed."