A PENSIONER is fighting "like a tiger" to have her rubbish collected.

Rosamund Bray has only had her waste picked up twice since Bromley Council changed the collection routes and days at the beginning of July.

During the other weeks the 66-year-old has taken the rubbish to the Waldo Road refuse site in Bromley herself.

This is despite a problem with her lower back which causes her to have difficulty lifting the refuse bags from her car to the big bins at the dump.

The resident of Lubbock Road, Chislehurst, found herself having to pick maggots out of her car during the heatwave in July, when she did not see any rubbish collectors at all, and is disgusted with the council.

Now she wants a refund of the part of her council tax used to pay for waste collection since her normal collection stopped on June 28.

Mrs Bray said: "It has been a horrendous experience.

"I have never had to fight for anything and I do not know what to do.

"I think I have been treated appallingly and frankly it is just not on.

"I feel I have fought like a tiger. I have lived in this borough for 46 years and have never experienced anything like this before. It is an absolute disgrace."

Council officers have visited the block of eight townhouses affected by the problem several times since the beginning of July but Mrs Bray says these visits have not helped.

She added: "A lot of soothing, conciliatory and palliative words came from them.

"But I am now absolutely fed up and disgusted with the whole thing and wish it would just go away.

"Why have we got to fight for a service we pay for?"

A Bromley Council spokesman said: "There have been specific reasons why our waste collection service has not been as reliable as we would like for this resident.

"We of course, unreservedly apologise for the inconvenience caused.

"We are taking action to make sure collections are reliable once more."