A woman whose brown bin rounds were missed for four weeks in a row says the situation has been “horrendous”.

Denise Collins-Reddin, who lives in Volta Close, Edmonton, said she and her neighbours have had to put food waste into their black refuse bins because their brown caddies are full.

And she warned it could be much worse if it happens again in the summer, when warmer temperatures could cause unhygienic conditions.

The problems come after the council introduced separate food waste rounds in November in a bid to save money and boost recycling.

Ms Collins-Reddin said: “It has been horrendous. If this happens in the summer, it is not going to be good.

“They always say put your bins out. I put them out the night before. All my neighbours along the way have not had their bins picked up.

“We have all emailed and said to the council the bins have not been emptied. We have received emails saying, ‘we are glad you have told us, and we will try to get someone to come out’.

“It is frustrating. The lady a couple of doors from me – there are five people in her house. Over Christmas, it has been horrendous.”

Ms Collins-Reddin said she did not know whether other streets in her neighbourhood had been affected by missed collections.

She added: “The council are very quick to send letters saying this is what you should and should not be doing, and they are not fulfilling their obligations.”

Enfield Council says a shake-up of the waste collection service – including separate food waste collections and a move to fortnightly refuse and recycling rounds – will save more than £2 million per year.

It also hopes the changes will help to increase the borough’s recycling rate to 50 per cent.

After a previous report of waste collection problems, the council admitted receiving 274 reports of missed brown bin rounds during the first week of the new service.

Enfield Council has been approached for comment.