WASTE partnership bosses have denied refuse collectors "forgot" to empty bins and recycling boxes after residents complained of missed collections in two different villages.

Residents in Luccombe say they watched two collection lorries drive past their homes twice without stopping on Monday, the day their recycling boxes should have been emptied.

But the lorries did not return and the carefully sorted recyclables were left uncollected.

The missed collection came a week after the same villagers had to wait four days for their household waste to be taken away when their wheelie bins were emptied on Friday rather than Monday as scheduled.

Luccombe resident Tom Lock said it was clear there were "serious problems" with the switch to fortnightly waste collections and weekly recycling rounds under the new Sort It Plus scheme.

"I telephoned to complain and was simply told there had been problems.

"It's ridiculous to say that when we've seen the lorries drive straight past," Mr Lock said.

It was a similar story across in Brompton Regis where villagers also missed their weekly recycling collection, this time on Tuesday.

A resident, who asked not to be named, said the entire village had been missed and claimed he had been told by contractors May Gurney the village "must have been forgotten".

"It's ridiculous. Everybody put their recycling containers out by 7am on Tuesday, as they are supposed to do, and in the evening they were still there.

"When I rang up to complain I was told the recycling would be picked up on Wednesday but nobody seemed to be able to give me a proper reason for the failure.

"I pay over £2,000 a year in Council Tax and all I really get is a street light - and they're even trying to turn that off now," he said.

A spokesman for the Somerset Waste Partnership denied anyone had been "forgotten" but gave no reason why collections had been missed in either Luccombe or Brompton Regis.

He said the "vast majority" of the 17,000 West Somerset households receiving the new Sort It Plus collections were getting "a good service".

But he said he was sorry that was not the case for all homes in the district.

He said: "We are checking what may have been the problem so we can correct it.

"No homes are ever 'forgotten' but issues like vehicle breakdowns, route changes and traffic or road repairs can affect the service.

"If wheeled bins or recycling boxes have not been picked up, the crews will try to return within two working days to carry out the collection."

He said containers should be put out at the kerbside by 7am on the expected collection day, while anyone with queries about their collections should contact West Somerset Council's customer services on 01643 703704 or by emailing [email protected]">[email protected].