A resident claims he was left “trembling with fear” after an angry confrontation with a refuse worker at Colchester Recycling Centre.

John Rigby visited the council facility, in Maldon Road, on Saturday to dispose of some household waste in the run-up to the festive period.

Inadvertently he placed a bag of waste in the wrong bin after which he claims he was accosted by a member of staff at the centre.

He said the employee proceeded to aggressively bang on the sign with a large stick before swearing and even physically intimidating him.

Mr Rigby, 63, said: “It was a genuine mistake and I did not see what was on the sign and accidentally put a bag of rubbish in the wrong place.

“I threw the rubbish in there and as soon as I did, this lunatic came at me from nowhere and banged on the big sign with a big stick.

“He shouted ‘Can’t you f****** read - this is for wood not rubbish’’.”

Mr Rigby said he quickly apologised and offered to remove the black bag of general waste from the skip himself.

He said: “I asked for his name, to which he told me to f*** off.

“I said I would take a photo of him and then he grabbed me and marched me down the steps to the bin.”

Following the incident, Mr Rigby visited the site office and reported what happened to contractors Veolia.

He added: “I was trembling with fear after it happened as I was concerned he was going to hit me with the stick he was carrying.

“The way he was acting was awful.

“If I had been any older or an elderly lady I dread to think what might have happened.

“You shouldn’t work with the public if you react like that. It was a genuine mistake.”

A spokesman for Veolia said: “I can confirm that a complaint has been received and is in the process of being investigated.

“Footage from our CCTV system has been viewed and we will be interviewing relevant staff when they return to work later this week.

“A response with the outcomes of our investigation will be provided to the complainant in due course.”

An Essex County Council spokesman confirmed the council was aware of the incident and said the complaint by Mr Rigby would be fully investigated.