FURIOUS residents fear a public health crisis is looming after the city council failed to meet its promise to clear a backlog of bin collections.

Brighton and Hove City Council last week blamed the previous week’s snow for months of delays of the recycling and refuse collection rounds across the city. But officials promised the Argus the backlog would be cleared by Friday.

But residents are now exasperated as seagulls and foxes have ripped open the mounting piles of uncollected rubbish - leaving litter the city’s suburbs looking like a filthy mess.

Residents in Patcham, Hollingbury and Portslade have not had their main bins collected for three weeks - leading to fears that overspilling rubbish could attract rats.

Whilst the city is failing to meet it’s recycling targets many residents have been waiting more than six weeks for recycling to be cleared.

The council’s refuse and recycling service has been inundated with complaints. Yesterday they said they were too busy to respond to queries via social media - and those who managed to get through on the telephone said they were given more excuses.

Maggie Moore, of St michael’s Road, Portslade said: “I’m getting so fed up now streets are looking disgusting. Seagulls and foxes are ripping open bin bags as yet again for nearly three weeks there have been no collections. If they don’t sort it soon it will be rats next.”

Janine Walsh said her bins in Carden Hill have not been collected since the week before the snow.

She said: “The bin bags are being ripped open by seagulls every day. There’s all sorts of disgusting rubbish spilling over the pavements as we take our children to school. It’s a public health risk.”

Rawden Rogerson’s recycling boxes in Bute Street have not been collected for four weeks.

“It’s 4 weeks today since we had a collection and we’ve only had a collection on our allocated date once since before Christmas.

“People are paying their council tax and the council is not upholding their end of the deal.

“I would much rather it was recycled than sat piling up on the street and the longer it sits there the more mess there is.

“It’s pretty poor.”