RUBBISH inspectors have been giving up tricks of their trade by giving householders lessons in how to pack their dustbins in a bid to encourage more recycling.

The visits have left residents on one Blackburn housing estate gobsmacked, and they have now mounted a campaign to get weekly collections re-introduced after claiming their bins have been full of maggots.

At the end of April, 12,000 homes in Blackburn and Darwen switched from weekly all-rubbish collections to a new fortnightly service which involves recyclable rubbish being collected one week and non-recyclable the next.

Council bosses have already hailed the launch - which resulted in people having to split their rubbish up into one of four different containers - a success because around 150 tonnes of rubbish a week is being recycled rather than dumped in landfill sites, at a cost of £14 per tonne.

But some residents claim it has become a nightmare, including people living on the Oakdale estate, in between Blackburn and Darwen.

Jeff Foster, 40, of Forrestside, said: "We've tried to recycle but the bin just fills up. We have a child and the bin does fill up.

"It means the food stuff, which is mainly what goes in the non-recyclable bin, sits there for up to a fortnight. I opened my bin the one day and it had maggots in it. It is unhygienic and not suitable.

"When I contacted the council they sent an inspector round who went through the bin trying to find stuff we had been putting in the wrong bin.

"The point is we want our waste to be taken away every week. That's what we pay our £1,200 council tax."

A letter signed by the residents of Forrestside has already been sent to the council and Mr Foster is now following it up with a petition.

He said: "Flytipping has already increase round here as a result."

Peter Hunt, director of direct services at the council, said: "We have two officers who will call at people's houses to go through their rubbish to help find ways of recycling more and fitting it all in. In some cases, it can be as simple as flattening containers before they go in the bin.

"Overall, we are pleased with the new system and are looking to expand it later in the year."