Alison Nevison with the piles of rubbish outside her home Picture Ref: 77153-30SOMETHING was causing a bit of a pong in a new Swindon street until the Evening Advertiser sniffed out the problem.

Residents in Rainham Road, Priory Vale, can finally breathe easy now their rubbish has been collected.

Yesterday binmen visited the street for the first time nearly two months after householders moved in.

Despite at least four phone calls from resident Alison Nevison, 40, binmen always bypassed her street.

So in desperation, the mother-of-two called the Evening Advertiser.

We then contacted John Short, director for Swindon Services, who arranged a collection within 90 minutes.

Despite the recent problems experienced with refuse collections in the town, it was not the council's mistake this time.

An oversight by the housebuilders appears to be to blame.

Dozens of black bin bags containing rotting food and other household waste had been left outside properties.

Mrs Nevison, who moved into her new three-bed terrace with children Hollie, 12, and Connor, five, on March 15, described it as a haven for rats.

"It was disgusting and it really was a health hazard having all that rubbish about for so long," she said.

"When we first moved here I had a lot of rubbish from self-assemble furniture so I took the lot down to the tip.

"Because the street is brand new I thought it might take a few days for them to get the system up and running.

"Six weeks later and they've still not come it's getting beyond a joke."

Swindon Services said the collection was an act of good will and that the council was not responsible for the mix-up. Mr Short explained that rubbish is only collected from new homes when instructed to do so by the developer, who in this case was Crest Nicholson Homes.

"Until that point it (the rubbish) should be picked up by the developer," he added.

"Out of concern for the environment we agreed to collect the bags but we will be charging the housing developer."

In a joint statement, Crest Nicholson said: "We built the homes in Rainham Road at Priory Vale and then, on completion, handed them over to Sovereign Housing Association.

"Crest Nicholson and Sovereign Housing Association are currently investigating the problem with refuse collection from the properties in Rainham Road and the housing association will be writing to residents in the next few days to update them on the situation."

Kevin Shoesmith