A SINGLE mother said today she feared she could face action by her council landlord over piles of rubbish in her garden - but she claimed the council's own new waste collection system is to blame.

Kerry Waite, 26, of Corlett Court, Foxwood, said she could not cope with City of York Council's new fortnightly collection of household refuse.

Housing officers were due to visit her home today to tell her to clear the mess.

The mother-of-four said: "It's absolutely chock-a-block now and both bins are totally overflowing.

"Before, when it was every week, I was struggling. Now it is absolutely ridiculous. In two weeks it is just complete hell.

"It is disgusting, especially when I'm getting a visit about the state of the garden. I can't see what else I can do."

Kerry said she was worried about letting her children play in the garden, but had no way of removing the mountain of rubbish herself.

She said: "The back garden is in a right state. I can't even let the kids use it because of all the rubbish. There's all sorts in there.

"Apparently I have to get rid of it, but there is just no way I can do it, no way at all. I can't even drive.

"Most of my family live outside York, so I can't even get anyone to help me."

A spokeswoman for City of York Council said recycling workers could visit Kerry to show her how to sort her waste.

She said: "We've found that this 'hands-on' support can significantly reduce the amount of waste going into the resident's grey bin.

"The team will be contacting Ms Waite as soon as possible and asking if she would like their help. A member of the council's housing department will also be visiting Ms Waite to try to help her resolve any problems."

She also said Kerry was entitled to a larger family-size grey bin.

The city council's reduced fortnightly collection service for household waste has been plagued by problems since it was introduced earlier this month. Residents across the city, thousands of whom signed our Bin It! petition against the changes, have suffered from missed collections and rubbish piling up outside their homes.

Updated: 10:05 Friday, October 28, 2005