RESIDENTS in Pinewood have criticised rubbish collection in their area after being left with bags piled high for more than four weeks.Karen Fox was forced to keep bin bags in her kitchen after Babergh contractors said they would not collect refuse that was not left in bins.

RESIDENTS in Pinewood have criticised rubbish collection in their area after being left with bags piled high for more than four weeks.

Karen Fox was forced to keep bin bags in her kitchen after Babergh contractors said they would not collect refuse that was not left in bins.

But according to Miss Fox, bins outside her Pinewood home were full and there was nowhere left to dispose of rubbish.

Although refuse was finally collected on Friday, Miss Fox believes this may be a temporary measure.

She said: "This isn't the first time this has happened, we had a similar situation before Christmas although it didn't pile up quite so much.

"I don't think this problem will go away and I'm sure I won't be the only one complaining if it happens again.

"I don't want to keep rubbish indoors as I have a seven-year-old and it is a health risk. It wouldn't have been long before there were rats."

A resident in neighbouring Woolverstone Close claims more than 600 black bags were left in his road and a dead rat had been seen in the street.

Cliff Mecoy said: "I don't expect rodents to be outside my house.

"I rung Babergh council and spoke to the refuse department who said they will collect what is in the bins and no excess.

"The bags were 6ft high and 8ft wide and there was nowhere else to put rubbish - this is not a third world country."

Council contractors Cleanaway are responsible for disposing of the rubbish but refused because it was inaccessible.

A spokesman for Babergh council said: "The homes in the Woolverstone, Pin Mill and Shotley Closes have a number of collection areas where bins are stored.

"In some cases these bins are virtually impossible for our binmen to access, involving carrying bins up flights of steps.

"In other cases, tenants deposit their waste in plastic bags which also makes it difficult for the binmen to get to the bins."

Babergh council claim that the responsibility was with landlords, Orwell Housing.

"For a number of years we have been pressing the landlords, Orwell Housing, to sort out these problems.

"In spite of numerous meetings, site visits and other discussions, nothing has been done about this.

"We would urge the tenants to lobby Orwell Housing to sort out the accessibility problems once and for all.

"Until they do this, our contractors can only collect properly stored waste that is reasonably easy to get to."

Paul Kingston, director of housing at Orwell said: "The problems of refuse collection on this particular estate have been going on now for approximately a year. We've been trying to solve some of the issues working in conjunction with Babergh environmental services and their contractor Cleanaway.

"It has come to my attention recently that things have begun to escalate. "This is due to problems which stem from a health and safety risk assessment being carried out and Cleanaway not being able to collect bins in a certain area."

Babergh council and Orwell housing met on Thursday to discuss the issue and the backlog of rubbish was removed over the weekend.

They have agreed to work together to remedy the problem recurring in the future.