Disgusted residents on a council estate say they fear for their health as “stinking” waste continuously piles up outside communal bins.

Tenants in Jesuit Close, Canterbury, say the stench of a “mountain of nappies” and rotten food overflowing into the street is making their lives unbearable.

One man on the Hales Place estate says the issue can be “five times worse” than it currently is, and blames council binmen for neglecting to clear the waste.

He says the problem has persisted for two years and his complaints have constantly fallen on deaf ears.

“The bins just are not fit for purpose - it’s a despicable mess,” he said.

“It’s a health hazard and only a matter of time until someone goes down with something. I want to get a malaria jab as God knows what you can get from all that rubbish.

“The place has become a dumping ground where non-residents are putting stuff.

“Little kids play around here and pick it up. With the hot weather, the fumes and bacteria on the rubbish will hover and it gets on your lungs.

“It’s embarrassing to have outside your home and it stinks - we can’t have the windows open.

“We used to all have our own wheelie bins, and then one day they all went and these communal bins got put in.

“We had no notice or any guidance on how to use them.”

The city council told KentOnline it would arrange for a crew to visit Jesuit Close this week, adding: “Communal bin areas do have their challenges as it is difficult to prevent people who don’t live there from dumping their rubbish there, causing problems for the residents who live at the site.

"It’s embarrassing to have outside your home and it stinks..."

“We will look at the situation at Jesuit Close and see whether there are any changes we can make to improve matters.”

While the issue at Jesuit Close has been ongoing for years, council contractor Canenco has come in for criticism elsewhere in the district for its performance in recent weeks.

Residents have complained of missed or late collections everywhere from Chartham to Whitstable.

Philippa Cowley-Thwaites said: “The streets in Whitstable are full of rubbish at the moment - the back alleys haven’t been touched in months and are, therefore, a paradise for fly-tippers, so it is really not pleasant, or safe to walk down them.

“Now, even on normal weeks, it’s anyone’s guess whether the bins will be emptied; roadworks or no roadworks.”

A council spokesman said: “We are continuing to experience some delays to bin collections this week and apologise to anyone affected by this.

“This is a knock-on from problems outside of our control late last week, when roadworks near to the site where we empty the dustcarts led to delays and meant we were unable to start this week with empty vehicles.

“As a result, these vehicles had to be emptied on Monday morning, causing a delay to this week’s service. Crews are now working hard to catch up.

“Please leave your bins out and we will get to you through this week, using Saturday to mop up anything that is outstanding.”

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