THREE out of five brown bins in West Fife have a maggot infestation, according to a local bin cleaning service.

The hot weather has coincided with a spate of complaints about the creepy crawlies, with one Crossford woman calling for weekly collections in the summer.

Rossyln Garland said she was disgusted to find maggots in her brown bin while the owner of Wilson Forrester Cleanbin says the problem is “horrendous”.

Mr Forrester said, “The problem is unbearable and it’s not even just maggots, it’s bluebottles and flies too.

“The hot weather isn’t helping, but the problem is that the bins aren’t being collected often enough.

“I’ve been cleaning for 27 years and it’s only since the council went from weekly to fortnightly collections that it’s happened.” He said that he finds a maggot infestation in three out of every five bins he cleans and added, “The problem arises because the eggs are already on the waste when they go in the bin and the eggs hatch within seven days, so they really need to be collected in that time.

“Also to avoid the spread of infections such as E. coli. But they’re not and therefore infestations are very common. Hygienically, it’s horrendous.

“They’re trying to save money but in doing so they’re putting money before public hygiene.” Fife Council’s Roddy Mann, senior manager of environmental operations, disagreed that the council’s fortnightly collections were the cause.

He said, “There should be no significant issue with maggots if householders correctly use their bio-bags for food waste.

“Having said that, the presence of maggots in the waste bins is not unknown.

“If you are on the service please make sure food waste goes into the bio-bags provided free of charge, tie them and put them in the brown bin.

“It is also useful to have your bin washed out from time to time to remove residues that are attractive to flies and other potential pests.”