Millions of homes will be spared monthly bin collections under a new Government pledge to reverse a trend towards them, following complaints of rats, flies and stenches.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs will set out plans this week for a major overhaul of waste and recycling in England, which will ensure smelly food waste is collected on a weekly basis.

It comes after a number of cash-strapped councils have cut the frequency of their bin collections from every one or two weeks to every three or four weeks. This has caused outrage among many of the affected residents, who have faced dealing with smelly, overflowing bins which attract flies and rodents.

The Government will provide extra funding to local authorities to ensure that people can have their food waste taken away weekly without having to pay extra council tax.