Rubbish sacks at a city council block have been left to fester in the heatwave for five weeks because bin collectors have refused to clear them.

Residents at the three-storey council block in Donald Hall Road, East Brighton, say the smell is becoming unbearable and the bags attract flies and rats.

Refuse collectors have refused to pick up the rubbish because they say residents have been dumping non-domestic bulky waste.

But occupants of the block say their garbage is no different from anyone else's and sacks from other properties behind the Royal Sussex County Hospital are regularly and efficiently collected each Friday.

Paul Garner, 27, said: "It is ridiculous. We can't open windows because of the flies and the whole block stinks. Every other block has its bags and bins collected but the bin crew just ignore us. There is no bulk waste. It is just plastic bags."

A spokeswoman for Brighton and Hove City Council said: "There is bulky waste in the bin store, such as mattresses, which does not count as domestic waste.

"We are making special arrangements to clear the bin store. Residents should not have any more problems, providing they do not dump bulky waste."