A woman today dumped a pile of stinking rubbish bags on the steps of Brighton Town Hall in protest over a missed collection.

Jackie Atkins, of Marine Square, Brighton, took matters into her own hands because she was disgusted her refuse had been left to fester for more than a week after it was due to be collected.

She snapped when the black bin liners and carrier bags left outside her house began to smell.

Furious, she collected the rubbish herself and drove to Brighton Town Hall, where she dumped the lot outside.

Residents have complained across Brighton and Hove after the council's recent reorganisation of collection days.

Many homes have not had their rubbish collected when they expected.

Ms Atkins said: "Brighton has never been as disgustingly dirty as it has been since it became a city. It must be one of the filthiest places to live in Britain.

"There is always rubbish everywhere, and especially in the city centre. It's embarrassing."

Residents and council workers watched as Ms Atkins dumped the pile of rubbish outside the town hall at 9am today.

She left it at the main entrance as many people were walking in and out of the building.

She said: "They can come and arrest me, I don't care. It smells and it's making our city a disgrace."

A spokeswoman for Brighton and Hove City Council said: "We would like to apologise to people who haven't had their rubbish collected when they expected and we thank them for their patience.

"The refuse collectors are working very hard across the city in dealing with any bins which have been missed and are trying to get to them as soon as possible."

She said most bins had been collected, adding there would be teething problems with any major reorganisation.