After sustained criticism, those behind changes to the waste collection system were delighted to reveal a doubling of the recycling rate to 60 per cent.

But this week many mischievously suggested the reason no rubbish was sent to landfill - a first which could save £375,000 this year - had more to do with the amount of waste which went uncollected rather than the quantities recycled.

After three weeks, Fairlawn Close homeowners in Leamington say they have not had a collection of any sort.

A residents association spokesman said: "Our designated dustbin area is full to bursting and very smelly. The red bins have been brought in and put back out again but remain full and telephoning is useless.

"One determined resident hung on for four hours before they finally got a response. It's festering. If this is the result of two years' planning they couldn't organise a booze-up in a brewery.

Mother of a one-year-old, Caroline Pearcey, of Maxstoke Gardens, Leamington, said: "I have had one collection since April 1 and you can imagine what it is like. My outhouse stinks of rubbish and I have six bags of recycling."

TO READ WHAT HEAD OF WASTE MANAGEMENT JACKIE WEBB HAD TO SAY ABOUT THE ONGOING PROBLEMS, CLICK HERE.

Meanwhile, in rural areas there were suspicions some homes had been left off the routes, after another week without a visit from the bin lorry.

At Bridge Barn Cottage in Hunningham, pensioner Ted Richardson has 38 days' worth of rubbish awaiting collection - though Sita did manage to find him for a red bin collection on April 8. He said: "It's dreadful - and living where we do we get precious little else for our council tax."

Uncollected recycling prompted Leamington resident Dave Shirley and several others to fear the "momentum of the recycling bug that has got many householders thinking" was being put at risk.

Mr Shirley said: "Now we have a number of streets with recycling and cardboard blowing all over the place. Most people will have to keep four weeks of recycling or deposit in the grey bin, which defeats the object."

Having seen Sita miss two red bin days in a row, Ian Dyson, of Radford Hall, Radford Semele, said: "The rubbish is piling up and residents are becoming disillusioned. I hope these problems can be solved before people give up."

In Beausale Jayne Suominent had recycled so much she had to put left-over material in bags, as she was instructed to. But that meant the Sita contractors failed to collect it - instead "chucking it on the floor and ignoring it".

To add insult to injury, Miss Suominent's grey bin was not emptied on Monday, possibly because the uncollected recycling she was forced to throw out meant the lid would not shut.

"I've got a nine-month old baby. Where am I meant to put the nappies?" she said.

On the Forbes Estate in Warwick, Laura Smith's red box was emptied three days late. She spent "much of the weekend collecting rubbish from the garden after it was blown across the estate".