HEAPS of rubbish which caused months of misery for Southampton residents have finally been cleared by the city council. 

Residents felt they were "living in a dump" due to overflowing bins and piles of rubbish that were not "collected for months".

People living in Portswood Road complained of rats and maggot infestations.

Paul Davis blamed the council saying trash piled up outside his home near the junction of Alma Road had been "missed out" on collection days.

Before the mess was cleaned up on Thursday, the 40-year-old told the Daily Echo: "For three months, my recycling bin hasn't been cleared. I have phoned them, but I haven't heard back anything from them, and I just don't know what to do. 

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He stated that he has voiced his concerns to bin men, but his bins were not collected.

Paul added: "I have confronted the bin men before and shown them the dump, but it feels like nobody is bothered. 

"All the bins here are full and it makes me physically sick. 

"It's depressing to wake up every morning and see and smell it. I just want to go back to bed. Daily Echo:

Paul said: "Look, it looks like it's been here for six months. Does that look like it's been attended to?

"It's not just my road, it's everywhere."

The rubbish included mattresses, food waste, bags, cardboard, food waste, and other rubbish. 

READ MORE: Shirley flytipping causes anger amongst residents

A woman who wished to remain anonymous said: "I have noticed that some of the bins have remained untouched. Some of them are overflowing and give off a really bad smell. It's unhygienic."Daily Echo:

Both the residents complained that the rubbish was infested with maggots and rats and gave off a foul smell. 

"I saw a dead rat outside my house the other day," claims Paul.

A spokesperson for the authority said: "Collections have taken place as normal over the last three months. 

"We can confirm that we have now emptied the recycling bins in this area and cleared the excess bagged waste."

Furthermore, the Environmental Enforcement officers are working with the landlord and are taking steps to employ waste carriers to get the rubbish removed.

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The spokesperson added: "It is down to households to manage their waste correctly and effectively. Bags of ‘side waste’ placed next to a bin will not be collected as the wheelie bins provided should be sufficient."

READ MORE: Anger over fly-tipping in Weston and Woolston Southampton

Meanwhile, Labour Cllr for Bevois Ward, Toqeer Kataria voiced his concerns. He said: Residents have the right to live in clean neighbourhoods and be proud of their surroundings. Bevois councillors are aware of the high levels of flytipping and missed waste collections in the ward. It's regrettable that under the Conservative-run council, things have gotten worse, a lot more missed waste and glass collection in the city, and rightly residents are upset with this."

 

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