Rubbish will be left to fester outside some Black Country homes for almost a month while binmen are on festive breaks.

Fortnightly recycling collections due on Christmas Eve in some parts of Walsall have been suspended as it is an extra holiday for every member of staff at the authority.

It means the last collection before Christmas happened on December 10 with the next one scheduled for January 7.

It comes just days after Walsall Council celebrated record recycling rates, higher than any other metropolitan area, following the introduction of a new waste service earlier this year.

The borough’s residents are recycling more than 51 per cent of all household waste according to Government figures.

Among those affected is 53-year-old housewife Sue Cook, who lives at her home in Ingledew Close, Willenhall, with husband Phillip and son Ian.

“There are only three of us and the recycling bin is already full,” said Mrs Cook.

“Obviously everyone is entitled to a Christmas holiday, but I just don’t understand why collections can’t take place on Christmas Eve. There are plenty of other people working on Christmas Eve.”

The council introduced a three-bin scheme at the start of the year.

Householders get a green bin for recycled waste, grey bin for normal rubbish, and a brown bin for garden waste.

Mark Holden, head of Streetpride at Walsall Council, confirmed collections would not take place on Christmas Eve.

“Christmas Eve is an agreed council holiday along with 25 December and 28 December, which is why there will be no collections on December 24,” he said.

“Staff will be paid for working on December 28 which is a statutory bank holiday as they work to clear the extra rubbish generated at this time of year.”