Brighton and Hove's refuse collection service is in chaos following a change in collection days.

Hundreds of homes are still waiting for last week's rubbish to be collected and, in some areas, it has not been removed for a fortnight.

It follows a change in collection days for thousands of homes, which Sita, the contractors for Brighton and Hove Council, claimed would make the service more efficient. The company admits it is receiving up to 700 calls a day from residents.

Diligent householders put their bags out for collection on the new days after virtually the whole of Brighton and Hove was leafleted about the changes.

In some areas the bags and bins were not collected on the promised day. Bags and bins left at the side of the road are now being attacked by rats, foxes, seagulls, cats and dogs.

The council is passing all complaints about the non-collection of rubbish on to a special telephone hotline run by contractors Sita but the number is constantly engaged.

If callers get through, they are not given a definite time when their refuse will be collected.

Rubbish has not been collected from around Bedford Square, the Lewes Road area, Rottingdean and Woodingdean.

Rottingdean councillor Lynda Hyde has received several complaints about rubbish not being collected in her ward.

She said: "Whole roads and sections seem to have been missed out. What worries me is the lack of accountability regarding refuse collection. Sita seem to be a law unto themselves and entirely self- regulating."

Peter Martin, of Bexhill Road, Woodingdean, said that residents in his street had been waiting for a rubbish collection since July 25.

Mr Martin said: "There are bags of rubbish all along the road. It is already beginning to smell."

Paul Fennell, of Sandhurst Avenue, Woodingdean, said: "I have seen rats coming out of the slit bags of rubbish. Seagulls are also pecking at them. I am fed up with a council that can't even organise rubbish collection."

Harry Cowton, of Arundel Court, Westdene, said the rubbish at his flats had not been collected for three weeks.

"The smell is terrible and, despite promises of collection, nothing has happened."

John Routley, of Livingstone Road, Hove, complained: "There was a collection yesterday but binmen did not clean up. The whole road looks terrible. It is in a disgusting state. Everyone is talking about it."

Matt Taylor, marketing and public relations manager for Sita, said: "We acknowledge there has been an unusually high number of missed collections in the past week or so.

"However, we are just beginning a second week of a radical new system involving the division of the borough's 126,000 properties into three regions.

"Some of our operatives are now working in areas they are now unfamiliar with. It will take a few weeks for them to develop the local knowledge required.

"We are confident the new system will settle down in the near future. In the meantime, we have substantially increased the number of staff at our call centre to cater for the increased level of inquiries. We are getting 600 to 700 calls a day."