A STAND-OFF over bin collections at a block of flats which saw a small mountain of rubbish build up looks to be at an end.

Residents in all 12 flats on Kingsbridge Wharf, Mill Hill, Blackburn, have been dealing with the rubbish problem since mid-November, when they say the binmen refused to collect their rubbish due to the large communal bin’s lid being open because it was too full.

They say they were forced to keep more rubbish next to the bin, hoping that the council would arrange a collection but they failed to do so.

Now, with rats said to be scurrying around the area, Blackburn with Darwen Council has said it will clean up the festering rubbish and issue each flat with three individual bins to provide a solution.

Landlord Paul Ainsworth-Lord, whose company manages five flats in the block, said: “The single, large, green wheelie bin that’s on the road at the front of the flats worked fine when the block wasn’t fully occupied. But now the flats are full it’s not adequate.

“I noticed the bin men had missed emptying it before Christmas and I thought it was perhaps due to a change of collection times with Christmas.

“I noticed the bin was very full and the lid was not down and, as the weeks have gone by, the residents have placed their household waste next to the bin, expecting it to be removed in due course. But this has not happened. “ Antoni Bell, who lives in one of the flats, said: “They just stopped coming round to pick it up and we keep getting passed to someone else, nobody was taking responsibility.

“I have seen rats and cats tearing up the bags and making a mess.”

Several tenants say they have called the council, asking for the bin to be emptied, but that the council refused, claiming it is the responsibility of the management company.

Another resident, Billy Smith, said: “They don’t empty the bin because we don’t recycle, but we do not have any other bins.’ A council spokesperson said: “The responsibility for these flats rests with the landlords and managing agents.

“We have tried to identify the landlord for the whole site, but have not been able to. The bins are also the responsibility of the landlords, not the council. However, due to the ongoing situation, the council will remove all waste from the site this week and will provide new bins for individual flats in place of the green bin.”

“So in total there will be 36 bins going out this week along with information leaflets to the residents.

“When we are able to identify the full site landlord, we will seek to recover the council costs from them.”