UNCOLLECTED food waste bins "alive with maggots" have been branded a health hazard by residents fed up with late and missed collections in Broadstone

Mr Tate, of Insley Crescent, found his bin stinking and infested with maggots after going three weeks without a collection.

His food waste bin was missed out entirely two weeks ago when the bins on the road were collected two days late, and the whole street went without its collection altogether last week.

Mr Tate, 72, said he has twice contacted East Dorset District Council, but the bins - recycling and food waste - have been left on the pavement for a full week after last Tuesday's collection was missed.

"You can't get a straight answer out of them," he told the Echo. "Obviously they are falling seriously short on their ability to collect the rubbish and in their commitment to residents."

"It's absolutely disgusting now," he added. "What about the personnel who have to clear it? They'll need to be fully suited up and come with disinfectant equipment. I would say it's a significant health hazard."

Neighbour Brian Snelgrove said: "We just want them to sort it out and let us know what's going on. I appreciate it's difficult to communicate with everyone, but their website could be a lot clearer."

His wife Kathy added: "We don't know what's going on - up until a few weeks ago it's been fine."

Mike Moon, Head of Service (Operations) at the Dorset Waste Partnership, which has responsibility for the collections, said: “Since introducing new collections in East Dorset back in July, the vast majority of the 35,000 properties we service in this area haven’t experienced any disruption.

"However, we have kept a close eye on the new rounds and are fully aware that a small number are being regularly delayed, which is clearly unacceptable.

"Additional resources have now been allocated to assist the crews in those affected areas, ensuring residents get their waste collected on the correct day. This will start by Friday 16 September, if not sooner.

"In the meantime, any missed collections will be picked up as soon as possible. For further information please visit https://www.dorsetforyou.gov.uk/recycling-and-rubbish-collections/disruption

"We apologise for any inconvenience this is causing. Rest assured, we are taking all necessary actions to return service levels in these areas back to normal as quickly as possible.”