Rubbish has been left festering, attracting pests at a block of flats in Reading for weeks after a failed bin collection.
Photos shared by a resident of the flats in Newark Street show both the general waste and recycling bins overflowing, with rubbish in bags being left on the floor.
The neighbour has complained that rats, flies, and other pests have become attracted to the flats because of the uncollected bins.
The man, who asked not to be named, said: “It’s getting worse. Because there is rubbish on the floor, they [bin collection staff] say they can’t access the bin, it gets fuller and fuller and the rats there are massive.
“They don’t even run away from us. It’s shocking what we see every day, it’s gross, we get fruit flies as well.
“No one opens the bin store door; people just throw the rubbish outside.
“It’s a shocking view, the smell, the flies, the rats, it’s just shocking.
“There are nine families there. I live right there, we’re right next to the rubbish.”
The resident explained that council staff can usually access the bin store using a code.
While a bin team did visit following the missed collection, he claimed that staff failed to take action.
The resident explained: “I don’t know why they don’t take the rubbish, they just drive away. It should’ve been collected in the first place.”
The council was unable to collect the waste due to the gate to the bin store being damaged. A crew will be sent for a special collection to attempt to collect the waste.
A spokesperson said: “A crew attempted to carry out a collection from this bin store on September 12, only to find the gates were damaged, meaning they were unable to gain access.
“The council is subsequently sending a crew this evening (September 24) to clear the bin store of all waste if it is able to gain access.
“If the gates are still damaged, then we would urge the resident to report this to their property manager for urgent repair to ensure access to the bin store is possible in the future.”
The resident reported that the rubbish was cleared away by staff at around 3.30pm.
However, he still expressed concern about the rats that had been attracted by the waste.
He said: “They collected the rubbish, but the rats problem is still there.
“The massive holes on the ground and the rat drops are everywhere.
“It’s very worrying walking around in the dark. especially for little kids.”
Categories: Rubbish collection
