South Londoners have said their council block became infested with flies after their rubbish wasn’t collected for a month even though they complained multiple times.

People living on Cornwall Court on Garratt Lane in Tooting said their bins were overflowing with piled-up rubbish.

Wandsworth Council and its waste contractor Serco have both apologised for the disruption caused to residents.

A photo of the bins in Cornwall Court taken by resident Lisa (who did not wish to give her surname) on 08.08.2022

They said refuse crews removed the surplus rubbish on Tuesday and will resume normal services once the scaffolding on a building next door is removed.

But residents told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that the council had taken weeks to address their concerns despite being chased on the issue multiple times.

A photo of the bins in Cornwall Court by resident Lisa (who did not wish to give her surname) on 08.08.2022

They said some of the waste was removed on Tuesday and that the estate manager was now dealing with the issue, but claimed the council had been “impossible” to communicate with.

Lisa, who did not wish to give her surname, said the flies had been coming into her home from the rubbish, with the bin storage room below her kitchen, which was particularly “awful” during the heatwave. 

A photo of the bins in Cornwall Court on 09.08.2022 when the LDRS visited after some of the overflowing waste had been removed on the same day. Credit: Charlotte Lillywhite/LDRS

The 35-year-old said she had been on holiday twice and the bins had not been collected either time she got back.

She said: “How can they just decide to stop collecting our rubbish in the middle of summer time when it’s roasting and all those flies.”

 =She added: “[The flies are] disgusting. You know when you’re trying to prepare dinner, and normally I would keep the windows closed but it’s so hot.”

The resident added that none of them had been warned that their rubbish collection would stop.

A photo of the bins in Cornwall Court on 09.08.2022 when the LDRS visited. Credit: Charlotte Lillywhite/LDRS

She said she contacted the council on Monday (August 8) but struggled to get through to anyone and didn’t get a call back.

She said: “How would they just stop, like it’s really confusing, and no communication from the council – just giving us a heads up or something.”

A spokesperson for Wandsworth Council said: “We’d like to sincerely apologise to these residents for the inconvenience they’ve suffered, which was caused by badly positioned scaffolding erected on a neighbouring privately owned building which blocked access to the bin chambers of this council block.

“We were able to finally gain access to the bin chamber yesterday (Tuesday) and all the surplus waste has been removed.

"The rest of the scaffolding is set to come down on Friday of this week which will mean we can resume normal collection services.

"Once again we are sorry for the disruption this has caused the residents.”

Franco Murphy, Serco’s regional operations manager in London, said: “The scaffolding on a neighbouring building has been preventing our refuse crews from accessing this bin storage area, but we are pleased to report on Tuesday we were able to finally gain access and have emptied the bins.

"We would like to apologise to all affected residents and thank them for their patience.”

We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.

Please report any comments that break our rules.

This website and associated newspapers adhere to the Independent Press Standards Organisation's Editors' Code of Practice. If you have a complaint about the editorial content which relates to inaccuracy or intrusion, then please contact the editor here. If you are dissatisfied with the response provided you can contact IPSO here

© 2001-2022. This site is part of Newsquest's audited local newspaper network. A Gannett Company. Newsquest Media Group Ltd, Loudwater Mill, Station Road, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. HP10 9TY. Registered in England & Wales | 01676637 |

Data returned from the Piano 'meterActive/meterExpired' callback event.

As a subscriber, you are shown 80% less display advertising when reading our articles.

Those ads you do see are predominantly from local businesses promoting local services.

These adverts enable local businesses to get in front of their target audience – the local community.

It is important that we continue to promote these adverts as our local businesses need as much support as possible during these challenging times.