A mother has hit out at Barnet council after it failed to empty her bins on time, leaving rubbish to pile up outside her home.

Deborah Barclay, 25, of Springwood Crescent, Edgware, says rubbish was left mounting outside her block of flats last week after the authority failed to collect it on Monday.

They were eventually collected on Thursday, after Ms Barclay says she made numerous phone calls to the council.

She said: “It isn’t the first time it has happened. The flats are full up, there are a lot of families. I have three children myself. Next door has two children. There are kids in the majority of the flats, it’s quite full up. The bins get full up quickly.

“It was everywhere down there, it was horrible. My neighbours are fed up with it too, it’s constant. Just because the lid was open a little bit.”

Ms Barclay, who has lived in the flat for five years, said she regularly takes her three children – aged two, four and five – to a green in front of the block to play, but was unable to because of the mess, leaving them cooped up inside.

She added: “I have not been able to because of the mess. There have been flies and wasps and everything.”

A spokesman for Barnet council said: “We collect waste from over 140,000 households a week. On occasion a collection does get missed, but we return to collect as soon as possible, as we did in this case.

“Residents who experience a missed collection should ring us on 020 8359 4600 or email sbs@barnet.gov.uk.”