A former waitress says she is reluctant to open her windows as she fears the stench of festering rubbish and faeces will stink out her home.

Rachael Randall’s ground-floor flat has been plagued by a foul smell from the communal bin area next to her block in Tennyson Avenue, Canterbury, for the past year.

The 46-year-old says soiled nappies, rotting food and human excrement can all be found strewn across the ground and in a number of sheds, which have been used as dumping zones.

“I should be able to open my windows and breathe fresh air – not that stench,” Ms Randall said.

“It’s disgusting and wafts through my window. It’s so bad it makes me want to puke.

“There's dirty nappies, furniture, trollies, clothing, food rubbish – everything.

“There are half-a-dozen sheds in there, which I haven’t seen ever get cleared out. They’re absolutely filled with rubbish.”

On the occasions Ms Randall, who used to work at a restaurant in Gravesend, does dare to open her windows on warm days, flies buzzing around the waste make their way into her flat.

She says the issue is the worst it has been in the 11 years she has been living in the area.

“I’ve seen rats and foxes going into the sheds,” Ms Randall added.

“We have people coming off the street using our bins. There is so much stuff round there.

“I’m so stressed about it. The hotter the weather gets, the worse it gets.”

Ms Randall claims to have lodged numerous complaints with Canterbury City Council about the issues.

Local authority spokesman Rob Davies says officers have tried to resolve the problem by installing a combination lock on the gate and removing fly-tipped waste from the site.

He added: "We're concerned to have received reports of problems at the communal bin area in Tennyson Avenue and have been trying to resolve these.

"Communal bin areas do have their challenges as it is difficult to prevent people who don't live there from dumping their rubbish there, causing problems for the residents who live at the site.

"An officer will be visiting Ms Randall as soon as possible to discuss the issues there and how we can prevent them in future."

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