Binmen are refusing to get their hands dirty by removing bin bags wedged at the bottom of wheelie bins, prompting anger from local residents.

Locals in Canterbury, Kent, have been left fuming in recent weeks after finding their wheelie bins still half full after a visit from binmen.

A spokesman for Canterbury City Council said it was the responsibility of residents to make sure that rubbish was not wedged in the bins.

After contacting the council to complain, locals said they were told that they should not pack the bags in too tightly and that binmen do not have time to yank the bin bags out of the wheelie bins.

Local Ian McMillan said his wheelie bins have not been emptied properly for weeks, adding: "My beef is not that my bin gets missed, rather that it has only been partially emptied.

"What's wrong with using a stick to dislodge the bags if they are stuck?"

Another resident, Claire Green, said she often found two bin bags in her wheelie bin after the bin lorry had been round.

She said: "All I do is put the bin bags in the wheelie bin - I don't squish them in that hard.

"It gets very annoying when you find two bin bags at the bottom of the wheelie bin as you don't have enough room for the waste for the upcoming week and have to take them to the dump."