Kingston Council will not bring back weekly waste collections for the summer months, despite complaints from residents about maggots festering in bins.

The problem was particularly bad in Lime Grove, New Malden, where building work was preventing Veoila entering the road to remove rubbish.

As a temporary measure, the council did agree to service Lime Grove households on Saturdays until the works were complete.

A council spokesman apologised for not giving residents prior warning about the change.

The spokesman said: “Maggots in wheelie bins is not considered to be a widespread problem - the number of residents contacting the council to raise concerns about this is extremely small.”

New Malden resident Rebecca Wright disagreed and said she also had a problem, despite living the other side of Kingston Road to Lime Grove.

She said: “We also have maggots residing in our wheelie bins, as does our neighbour - it has taken us quite a bit of time with brushes and bleach trying to get rid of the pests.”

Council advice to minimise the problem included putting all food waste in the brown waste container for collection every week, keeping bin lids shut, regularly rinsing bins and bagging up all rubbish before putting it in the bin.

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