Homeowners on Langdale Close did not have their dustbins emptied for three weeks until Wednesday this week following strike action by GMB union members leaving them overflowing onto the street.

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Langdale Close resident, Trevor Davey, resorted to taking his household rubbish to Thorp Arch tip after his bin was not emptied following a series of strikes by members of the GMB union over pay.

Mr Davey said the council had informed residents there would be no collection when the first strike took place on April 23 but had not notified residents of disruptions since.

He said: "We were notified there would be no collection because of the strike the first week but have received nothing since.

"We just presumed things were okay and we put them out as normal. Everyone put their bins out.

"But they weren't collected and it was starting to smell. I was talking to a neighbour and they have had the same problem."

Mr Davey said he blamed both the city council and the GMB union for the problem.

He said: "At least we should have been informed about what's going on. We didn't know what to do.

"A lot of people like ourselves have had to drive to Thorp Arch tip with some of their rubbish."

Leeds city councillor Steve Smith, executive member with responsibility for refuse collection, said: "I am sorry for the ongoing disruption being caused to bin collections in Leeds.

"The GMB is deliberately making life difficult for us and residents across the city by continuing its industrial action and work to rule.

"It is having an impact on our ability to catch up on work outstanding while trying to continue with normal collections.

"Regrettably, a small number of households have been missed – but we are working extremely hard to clear the backlog.

"I thank residents for their patience and understanding at this time and assure them that getting collections back to normal as quickly as possible is our top priority."

This week a spokesman for Leeds City Council said the council had written to all 60,000 residents affected by the strikes on April 23 and April 30.

He said: "It's vastly expensive to produce 120,000 letters. We did it as a matter of course.

"However, with the possibility of further strike action it's completely unfeasible to write to everyone every week. People don't want us to spend their council tax on this.

"Why Langdale Close was missed we don't know.