BAGS of rubbish have been piling up outside homes across Bromsgrove after a second week of disrupted waste collections, resulting from a council overspend on agency staff.

Areas of central Bromsgrove, Hagley, Stoke Prior and Finstall have been affected by the service disruptions, which have seen bins being emptied four days late in some cases.

Alder Way resident Malcolm Gamble said: "This is the second week that bins haven't been collected on their due date.

"The whole cul-de-sac has left their bins out because no one knows which day they're coming, but of course some are now overfull and the lids don't stay down. Everyone's been left in limbo."

Cllr Michael Thompson, who is now calling on the council for 'immediate long term action', added: "Already I have had a number of calls from concerned residents.

"Residents are concerned that the build-up of refuge may bring back some of the rat problems seen in the district.

"In the hot weather, the smell from the build up of waste has meant that many residents are not using their gardens."

The council says it is reviewing how to deliver waste collection services 'within its current resources' after an overspend on agency staff, which could cause further disruption over the next few months.

Head of environmental services Guy Revans said: "I’d like to thank residents for their patience during the changes we’re making to reduce an overspend on agency staff.

“The bottom line is that we are over our budget for agency staff for this year already despite the fact that our crews can often finish their day’s work early.

"Obviously this isn’t right, so we’re changing the collection rounds to better fit our working hours and ensure we’re using all of our own capacity first.

“Unfortunately we’re also currently experiencing high levels of sickness on top of summer holiday leave, so staff are working hard to catch up.

"As we manage this we’re prioritising any bins we miss for collection the next working day, and we appreciate that if your collection was due on a Friday, that means Tuesday.

"We expect this to settle down quickly, and while we are constantly monitoring the situation and seeking to minimise the disruption our apologies in the meantime as the changes bed in.”

Portfolio holder for environmental services Cllr Margaret Sherrey added: "It’s all being closely monitored and if it’s found that there is a real need for extra resources to collect the bins over and above current budgets, whether due to new houses being built or anything else, then we will of course look at that during budget setting."