BINS across more than 20 Worcester streets went uncollected today - causing a stink with angry residents.

Worcester City Council's leadership has apologised after staffing problems led to drivers shelving pick-ups in five different areas.

Bosses said a combination of workers being off and a sudden family emergency with another employee led to the decision to postpone collections in parts of Cathedral, Rainbow Hill, St John's, Warndon villages and Nunnery today.

People in the areas affected - 22 streets and 678 homes in total - are being asked to leave them out for collection tomorrow.

But today's cancellation has sparked bemusement among some members of the public, who called it "useless".

Writing on our Facebook page, a reader called Tracey Shenton said: "Resource management for dummies may be required."

Sophie Louise Findlay added: "My bins have been missed loads, multiple emails and calls to them are no help - they absolutely stink."

It has also led to Conservative councillors again questioning Labour's decision to keep bin collections in-house.

The opposition Tory group wanted to outsource refuse collections to the private sector from September next year, under a potential deal with Wychavon and Malvern aimed at saving £400,000 a year.

Conservative Councillor Andy Roberts, a former cabinet member who used to look after the department, said today: "It's a bit of a disappointment, but things do happen and collections can get missed for all sorts of reasons.

"I know the workforce is very committed, I won't criticise them.

"But if Labour has to make the cuts we think they'll now have to make, people will have to get used to this sort of thing.

"If you're got a bigger organisation, you're more flexible."

Fellow Tory Councillor Lucy Hodgson added: "It is exactly for this reason that we were determined to join with partners and outsource this service - it would have given us resilience."

A spokesman for the city council said it employs 34 bin collection workers, with the number exactly the same now as 12 months ago.

He added: "We apologise for the inconvenience to residents - the situation arose because some drivers are on leave, and another has had a family emergency."

Councillor Jabba Riaz, cabinet member for clean, green and leisure services said: "No bin service is 100 per cent resilient, regardless of whether it's the council or a private company running it.

"We acted quickly to re-arrange the rounds when we knew there would be an issue, to ensure we emptied as many as possible.

"In the end only 678 bins went unemptied, less than two per cent of the 44,000 household bins that will be emptied in Worcester this week, and we'll catch up with all of those on Wednesday.

"I do offer my apologies to the households affected."

Ironically, the issue of outsourcing is being discussed during a city council cabinet meeting at the Guildhall tonight.

The streets affected today included The Hopmarket, Wheatfield Avenue, Field Terrace, Lower Field Terrace, Diglis Avenue, May Avenue, Larch Road, Mulberry Terrace, Tallow Hill, Spring Hill, Spring Lane and Park Street.

South Quay, Bridge Street, Quay Street, Wylds Lane, Swinesherd Lane, Linksview Crescent, James Close, St Paul’s Street, Wellington Close and Newcastle Close made up the rest.