VILLAGERS are getting increasingly annoyed that their rubbish and recycling have not been collected for over six weeks.

According to residents living at Derwenlas near Machynlleth, part of the village has not had it's rubbish and recycling collected since February.

This is now causing distress and a health hazard.

Powys County Council have told The County Times, that extreme weather conditions, caused by the snows of the Beast from the East and a new collection schedules have proved problematic.

Katrina Gustafsson, from Derwenlas, said: "It's been horrendous.

"I'm very concious of the build up of rubbish and recycling that needs to be collected and that it could now be attracting rats.

"I'm lucky that the children are grown up and that I don't have nappies to put in the bin.

"There has been a collection but for some reason our part of the village has been left off the route.

"We're on a main road so that should not really be an issue.

"I do understand and sympathise that things were difficult due to the weather, but we've not had a collection since February which is ridiculous.

"I have been in touch with Powys Council and complained about the situation, but the complaint was closed as there had been a collection - but not for my part of the village.

"At the end of the day, we're paying for a service that is not being provided and we should be compensated for it."

County Councillor, Elwyn Vaughan has been in touch with the residents and has been to see the extent of the problems.

He said: "I'm asking Powys County council to sort this out as soon as possible."

Cllr Phyl Davies, Cabinet Member for Recycling and Waste, said: "Earlier this year, we changed our recycling and waste collection rounds to make them more efficient and to make savings of over £500,000.

"With over 66,000 households to collect from, comprising over 200 rounds that cover a quarter of the land mass of Wales, it has been a mammoth task altering the collection rounds across the county.

"Unfortunately there have been a few technical issues which has resulted in a few areas having their collections missed.

"We have now collected all the recycling and waste from those households in Derwenlas.

"We apologise for any inconvenience this caused but as the new collection rounds bed in, we’re confident that we will be providing an efficient recycling and waste collection service.

"We want to thank households for their patience while the new collection rounds are implemented."