Furious residents have been left frustrated after it took almost a month to empty bins which had been left overflowing prompting fears of vermin running wild.

Problems were reported at Lodge Hill Lane in Chattenden, near Rochester after collections were missed three times in a row during May.

The bin store had waste piling into the street and across the pavements and 34-year-old neighbour Michelle Davison said the smell was becoming unbearable.

The carer and full-time shop worker said there had been no collections since April 30.

But when angry residents questioned why bins had not been collected despite being visited by refuse collectors, they say they were told the four large bins had been "contaminated".

Medway Council, which is responsible for waste collection, said contractors Medway Norse were unable to collect the rubbish due to health and safety after "bulky waste" was found inside.

Officers then contacted landlord (L&Q) responsible for ensuring the items were taken away – which took place finally this week – before the remaining waste could be disposed of as normal.

Michelle said: "There's the vermin, the stench and the foxes. Kids are playing in the area and we're driving through it.

"It's a total eyesore, smells and is a local dumping site.

"I'm angry because our service charges keep going up but services get less. This isn't the first time it's happened."

Michelle said she was frustrated it had taken several weeks for the issue to be dealt with.

"You live in an area and try to respect it but it's difficult to when the council or people you pay service rate to do nothing about it," she added.

She added there had been times she had witnessed workmen look into the bins before driving away without collecting anything.

'It's a total eyesore, smells and is a local dumping site...'

The council says it is now working with landlords to work out a long-term solution to prevent the bins becoming loaded with unsuitable waste and prevent the "dumping site" from getting worse.

Sarah Valdus, Medway Council’s head of environmental services, said: “Unfortunately, our contractor was unable to empty the bins due to large, bulky items being placed inside which caused the bins to overflow.

"We have liaised with the landlord of the property who, we understand, has arranged for the bins to be cleared. We will continue to work with the landlord to ensure the waste can be collected safely each week.”

An L&Q spokesman said: “We apologise for the problems with waste collection from the bin stores in Lodge Hill Lane and understand the residents’ frustration.

“The amount of waste from this estate has increased during the coronavirus pandemic and we are working with Medway Council to provide more bins, to cater for this.

“Bulk waste which shouldn’t be there and overflowing waste, has caused a delay to the weekly council collections. Each time this has been reported, we have sent specialist contractors to clear the rubbish.

“Our contractors have cleared this again this week ahead of tomorrow’s collection.”

The bins were finally cleared on Wednesday afternoon and the remaining waste is set to be collected as normal today(Friday).

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