ANGRY residents have told how a festering garbage mountain built up near their homes after they were left without bins.

Laurence Cawley

ANGRY residents have told how a festering garbage mountain built up near their homes after they were left without bins.

Builders working on the Peach Maltings site, off Thingoe Hill in Bury St Edmunds, pulled out after the developer Highmore Homes went into administration.

Buyers of houses and flats at the 106-property development endured delays before taking possession of their new homes.

But residents experienced further problems after moving in because a number of them had not been provided with bins for their rubbish.

Last night St Edmundsbury Borough Council said it believed everybody who was entitled to a bin now had access to one but urged anybody who had not received a bin to get in contact.

One resident, a mother with a young child who did not want to be named, told how at one stage the build up of garbage became so bad it was approaching the edge of her garden.

“It was disgusting,” she said. “There were chicken carcasses, chemicals, all sorts of things. There were rats around. The rubbish reached right up to the curb.

“My mum came around and spent hours cleaning up rubbish. The way it looks now is heaven compared with what it did look like a few weeks ago.”

Tom Cahalan moved into his apartment in July - a year later than originally planned - but after he got settled in he discovered there was nowhere to put his rubbish.

The bin sheds had not been finished, he said, and no bins had been provided by the council.

As a result residents were forced to use a nearby skip but the build up of garbage became so bad it spilled over into the street, he added.

“It does make you wonder why you're paying council tax,” Mr Cahalan said. “I've made about 10 calls to the council in last five months. I was told we definitely had bins and I spoke to neighbours who were told the same thing. But we've not yet got these bins. It is mixed messages.”

A spokeswoman for St Edmundsbury Borough Council said: “The majority of residents at Peach Maltings use communal bins and they have all received information about where the bins are and how to use them.

“Some properties have individual bins which are supplied when the householders tell us that they have moved in.

“We are not aware that anyone is waiting for a bin. If this is not the case, the resident needs to give us a call and we can provide the bins straight away.”