BINS in Witton Wood are overflowing with rubbish, and dog walkers say that they haven’t been emptied for more than two weeks.

Residents said they have been complaining to Blackburn with Darwen council about the state of litter in the wood over a number of months after becoming concerned that the bins were not emptied twice weekly as the council promised.

It was noted by dog walkers that the litter inside bins at the bottom of the wood had not been collected for sixteen days. One Livesey resident said: “It’s just disgusting, isn’t it?

“The council really need to do something about it. They should be emptying the bins regularly so that rubbish isn’t floating around the park and the woods.

“People have been complaining about this for a long time and nothing seems to get done and it’s a real shame.

“It’s a lovely area for families and young people but I wouldn’t be happy for my five-year-old niece to play around here.”

Alan Cottam, ward councillor for Livesey and Pleasington said: “This problem has been reported to me and I had hoped that something would be done about it by now.

“I realise they will have lost a few days with the bank holiday and there was a big food event last weekend that has probably caused more rubbish, but the council knew that was happening and something should have been put in place.

“If people are throwing litter on the floor, that’s a different animal and we have to tackle that too.”

No-one from the council was available to confirm when the bins in Witton Wood were last emptied but a spokesman did confirm that rubbish was scheduled to be collected every Monday and Friday.

Tony Watson, head of Environment and Public Protection, said: “The emptying of the bins in Witton Park was affected by the Bank Holiday weekend, and normal collection of litter will take place this week. We aim to empty the bins in Witton Park twice weekly. ”