RESIDENTS have complained that the district council's new policy of collecting general waste every two weeks is causing a stink.

Malvern Hills District Council has now offered locals advice on how to minimise the stench from bin bags.

It recommended that people double bag their waste, keep their bin lids shut and consider composting.

Alex Bill, environmental services manager for the council, said: “The country has experienced an exceptional and prolonged spell of high temperatures recently but despite this we have only had a handful of complaints about smells.

"Keep all your rubbish in the bin with the lid closed, double-bag food waste and other particularly smelly items and use sacks, if not already doing so, to put your rubbish in before putting it in the bin rather than throwing waste in loose.

"Cutting down on food waste or considering home-composting are other ways people can reduce issues with smell.

"Fortunately the heatwave is about to break and temperatures are forecast to be much cooler in the coming days and potentially weeks which should also help alleviate the situation."

Mr Bill said the rest of Worcestershire had been operating fortnightly collections for some time and said people had coped with previous bouts of extreme weather.

However, one resident said: "I think it's going to start becoming a public health issue in this heat. We have flies and rats.

"If you are a single household with one wheelie bin then over two weeks it might not be the same.

"But I have a load of men in my house. I wonder how people are expected to get rid of their waste."

The new fortnightly collections were launched in April.