A FED-up householder says her communal bin has not been collected forfive weeks.

Dawn Barrie, of Kent Court, has been left angry and confused by the state of the bin store at her home, and believes it is by far the worst she has seen it in her 10 years of living there.

Mrs Barrie left her flat on December 22 for the festive period with every available bin full of rubbish, under the assumption that they would be cleared upon her return.

But to her dismay, when she arrived back home, not only had they not been emptied, but, with nowhere else to put it, other residents had continued to add to the heap.

The council has previously asked people to keep putting their bins out for their normal collections over the Christmas period. But the added rubbish created by the festivities means that the bin store at Kent Court is now exceeding its limit.

It is not just the fact that the mountain of rubbish is an eyesore that has upset Mrs Barrie, but the potential health and safety issues.

She said: “It’s disgusting. Every time I go down there it makes me feel sick. It has been about five weeks now since they cleared it. That’s not right, is it?

“What am I paying my taxes for? If they can’t do their job, don’t offer the service."

Mrs Barrie struggled to get through to someone at the council who she could speak to about the matter and was left frustrated by the service she received, adding: “I tried and tried and tried but I just kept getting put on voicemail.

In ordinary circumstances, a bin might not be clear for a number of reasons, including if the bin was not out for collection, if the bin lid was left up, if skips or cars block access to a bin, or if there is snow or ice on floor.

A Bolton Council spokesman said: “We are aware of an ongoing issue at this property, caused by excess waste blocking access to the bins.

“We have contacted the building owners to request the bin store area is cleared so our teams can access it safely.

“Once this is resolved, we can arrange a bin collection.”