BINS overflowing with dirty nappies and even a dead rat have not been emptied by the Isle of Wight Council for three weeks.

Residents at Flitcroft Gardens, Lake, have grown increasingly concerned after the piles of rubbish outside the flats have continued to grow.

The council said the bins, which are marked with stickers saying ‘general waste’, have been contaminated by non-recyclable waste.

Maxine Jackson lives at Flitcroft with her six-year-old son.

She said children usually played outside the flats, but had now been told not to go near the communal gardens.

Mouldy fruit, dirty nappies and other household waste has begun to pile up at the communal bins.

Maxine said: “I am now having to keep my bin bags inside because I can’t take them outside where they should go.

“The smell is horrendous, as soon as you step outside.

“There are pregnant women living here, and all but one of the flats have children living in them.”

Maxine said she saw Amey workers — who are contracted by the council to empty the bins — approach the bins last week, but they left without collecting anything.

A spokesperson for the council said: “We thank the County Press for drawing this resident’s concern to our attention.

“We must emphasis our contractors will resolve issues as soon as possible but only if we are made aware so kindly request that residents report any issues online or via the council call centre – with the best will in the world, we cannot resolve an issue unless it is raised with us.

“Our records show the recycling and waste collection for the past two weeks have not happened, because of no access to the bin store area and the recycling was contaminated.”