STINKING bags of rubbish have been left to rot in a Reading neighborhood for two months after an error by bin collection.

Residents from two properties on Newark Street said that they are unable to open their windows due to the ‘overwhelming stench’ that is coming from the increasing pile of rubbish outside their homes.

One resident, Tonin Muceku explained that binmen have refused to collect the rubbish from the homes for several reasons over the last few months.

He said: “It is getting ridiculous and so disappointing. Because the bags were sitting for months rats are running around the area because the smell is just so overwhelming.

“The nine flats in number 5 and number 3 Newark Street all use the bins that aren’t being collected so there are bags upon bags sitting beside and on top of the bins.

“I live on the top floor of number five so the smell is right outside our door and now that it’s getting warmer it’s even worse."

After speaking to the Chronicle, residents said that binmen have made multiple excuses for not collecting the bins over the past two months.

When confronted, one worker apparently told residents that the lorry had broken down which prevented the collection.  

Reading Borough Council, however, has confirmed that the reason for the delay was due to an unintentional mistake that temporary crews made when making the rounds. 

A spokesperson from Reading Borough Council said: “The missed waste bins at 5 Newark Street have been caused by temporary crews not being familiar with the service rounds and the position of the bin store.

"We will be monitoring all future collections from 5 Newark Street to ensure this doesn’t happen again.

“We thank the resident for bringing this to our attention and apologise for the obvious inconvenience this has caused.”

After a call from the Chronicle, the bins were collected yesterday.