Piles of rubbish left dumped in a Sainsbury’s car park “for months” have triggered concerns over a potential rat infestation.

Filthy discarded clothes, 41 lager cans and household waste have been left to fester next to a charity donation bin at the Kingsmead store in Canterbury

Sainsbury’s said today it will roll out additional collections to clean up the mess following calls for action.

District councillor for Seasalter ward Charlotte Cornell (Lab) told KentOnline she fears the mess at the Kingsmead Road store has been going on for months and could attract rats.

“Flytipping attracts flytipping so it might have been overspill from some donations that couldn't fit into the bank, which then has had extra rubbish added to it,” she says.

“It’s grubby and could absolutely attract rodents and pests.

“It has food and drink bottle waste in it.

“Anything that is a biowaste product can attract vermin.

“I just don't think that any supermarket would want areas that are potentially environmentally hazardous anywhere near them.

“No one wants to shop in places that don't look clean, healthy or inviting.

“I can’t imagine that Sainsbury’s would want anything other than to clean it up very speedily.”

The flytipping - next to Oxfam donation points in the store’s car park - includes beer cans, shoes and clothes.

Sainsbury’s has said it has arranged for the site to be cleared.

Cllr Cornell took the problem to Twitter, praising the existence of the bins but asking when the “health hazard” will be sorted.

The charity responded by saying: “Thanks for bringing this to our attention.

“I've notified our collections team.

“The donation bank will be cleared ASAP.”

Posting on social media, the councillor also urged others to not be part of the issue, saying: “People need to make sure that when they do generously donate, they keep all their clothes in the receptacles there.

“Leaving them outside means that especially in bad weather those bags just get destroyed and the donations are spread around.

“Then they end up getting incinerated.”

A Sainsbury’s spokesperson told KentOnline: “We have organised additional collections to clear the site at our Canterbury store and we are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.”