Maidstone Borough Council has defended its refuse record after residents complained about mounting piles of rubbish at blocks of flats in the town.

People in Farleigh Court and Sandling Park have called for weekly collections to be reintroduced, claiming fortnightly pick ups result in a backlog of black sacks, foul odours and in some cases maggots.

However, MBC claims it has received just 27 complaints in the past year and missed 2,318 bins out of a staggering 7,603,856 collected, equating to just 0.03%.

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MBC says communal collection issues in the borough are few and far between, adding most problems stem from a lack of recycling.

A spokesman said: “We have been working with Golding Homes to tackle issues at Farleigh Court, where recycling levels are low. There is the correct number of bins for the number of properties across the complex, but there have been problems with some areas taking bins from others, leaving some areas short. The bins have now been painted with the block numbers to encourage residents to leave the bins where they are needed, and Golding Homes has issued advice.”

She added the situation at Sandling Park in Sandling Lane is better but still in need of improvement.

Marion Ring, chairman of the communities, housing and environment committee said: “Thanks to support from most residents, we now recycle over 50% of the borough’s rubbish, and we’re aiming to increase that to 60% by 2019. However, to meet this target, we need everyone on board, which is why we’re working closely with those residents who need extra help to get the most out of the recycling service.”

Maria Macharo, of Farleigh Court in Farleigh Lane, said the problem is added to when housing authorities have to liaise with the council over waste removal.

Mrs Macharo insists the system operated much better when weekly collections were still in place.

She said: “I have noticed problems since it changed,” adding a recent missed collection resulted in festering waste attracting maggots.

She added: “I know recycling is also a big issue. It’s not fair that the actions of a few residents are ruining it for everyone else.”

In May, the Kent Messenger reported how a towering pile of waste at Shipley Court in Wyatt Street was left to stew for two months.

The result of flytipping it was eventually cleared by housing provider Hyde Housing.

Residents calls for a return to weekly collections - which were phased out last year - echo those of former Communities Secretary Eric Pickles who pledged to restore the “fundamental right” to a frequent bin round.

In total £250million was set aside to entice local authorities to return to the system but last week it was revealed the Government will likely scrap these plans at the next spending review.

The scheme has proved a hard sell to cash-strapped councils who cannot afford to run it even with Government funding.

Stoke-on-Trent City Council signed up in 2012 and was awarded £14.3million only to promptly perform a U-turn, citing spending cuts and stringent EU waste regulations.

On top of the slow uptake the Department for Communities and Local Government faces having up to 40% sliced from its budget.

A spokesman for Maidstone Borough Council confirmed it has no plans to revert to weekly collections, even for blocks of flats.