A disabled pensioner who hasn’t had her general waste bin collected in a month says she’s now “drowning in a sea of sacks”.

Barbara Quick has only had her rubbish taken from her home in Skye Close, Maidstone, once since March following a change in contractor.

The 95-year-old is registered for assisted collection as she suffers mobility issues and struggles to take her own bins out.

Barbara said: “May 3 was the last they were collected. I remember as it was near the local elections I didn’t hear them come but I could see they had.

“I remember that being a quick fix at the time as I tried ringing up to make sure it was done.

“I get through about a bag a day so I would say there are currently 30-40 out there. I am drowning in a sea of sacks.

“It’s not good for my neighbours to have to see things that could be unsanitary but it’s not good for me either.”

The volume of rubbish has exceeded the size of her bin with sacks of waste left on the lid and around the bottom.

On June 5, Barbara woke to see an animal had got into the bags and strewn them across her front and back garden.

Though the mess was cleared by her cleaner who came later in the day, some of the remnants could still be seen in bushes.

Barbara added: “If it had happened one day later it would have stayed like that until Monday as that would have been the next time someone would have been around.

“I’m a bit miffed. As far as I’m concerned I’m under contract with Maidstone Borough Council.

“They have never had to wait for their money and I haven’t had any bother until this year.

“I employ people to keep my property in good order and I have a gardener and a cleaner.

“I have so much to deal with already and to see that just makes me think why can’t they follow the contract?”

Bin collections have regularly been missed since Suez took over the £152million waste contract from Biffa in March.

Across Ashford, Maidstone, and areas in Swale reports of delayed or missed collections are rife with rubbish bags piling up.

A couple in Bobbing even erected a sign to highlight the last time they had a successful collection, while a resident in Kemsley hired a private firm to have his waste taken away.

The Mid-Kent Waste Partnership – comprising of Maidstone, Swale and Ashford councils – promised the new providers would “improve reliability, reduce the environmental impact and provide a more efficient service” for the 460,000 people living under the authorities.

But KentOnline revealed the inside story of the six weeks of chaos which has seen people going weeks without their bins being emptied as well as councillors paying out of pocket to clear bins.

Some people have seen the funny side to the situation, however.

Sittingbourne Mum Zoe Potter made a spoof video in the style of a David Attenborough documentary, talking about a sighting of the elusive binmen as a Suez vehicle appeared in her road, which has since been widely shared on social media.

But as far as Barbara is concerned the situation needs resolving and she says her bin is the only one on the road to have not been collected.

I am drowning in a sea of sacks

She added: “One of my neighbours offered their son to pull my bins out.

“I am very grateful but it’s not the point I’m logged down for assisted collection; it is not their job.”

After KentOnline got in touch with Maidstone council a spokesman for the local authority said they were aware of the issue and were seeking to collect the rubbish from the resident on Friday (June 7).

“We will arrange for a SUEZ supervisor to attend the next scheduled assisted collection and apologise for this inconvenience while the crew learns the new routes, following the introduction of the new waste contract,” they said.

Speaking previously, Cllr Clive English, Cabinet Member for Environmental Services and Enforcement at Maidstone council, says the contractors “require time” for the service to be “more resillent”.

“It is essential that this service is running properly, and the council is ensuring that our contractor, SUEZ, is working as hard and as quickly as possible to rectify all of the issues,” he added.

“We are sorry for the disruption caused to our residents and would like to thank them for their patience. We can reassure them that getting the service right is our top priority.”

Suez were approached for further comment.