Residents in a South Yorkshire village have been left without recycling collections since before Christmas, sparking concerns over mounting waste.

Brown bins containing glass, plastic and garden waste in Silkstone, near Barnsley, have not been emptied since December 23.

Household waste was only collected this week after a six-week delay, with residents reporting "rotten turkey carcasses" from the festive period among the accumulated rubbish.

Local resident Andy Jones, 66, expressed fears about vermin attracted to the uncollected waste.

Residents in Silkstone, near Barnsley, have been left without recycling collections since before Christmas

"There was definitely a reasonable fear of rats and crows eating out of bins," he said, adding that rubbish was piling up in his garage.

Jones said that despite council instructions to leave extra bags out, collectors refused to take them.

He criticised the council's management, noting that Christmas and cold weather "come every year".

Another resident, Diane Batty, highlighted the impact on vulnerable residents, reporting that her 91-year-old mother's bin had not been emptied since before Christmas.

Residents expressed growing concerns about health hazards such as rats as rubbish continues to pile up in the streets

"The workers are supposed to go and get her bin as she's too frail to wheel it down her drive, but they can't be bothered and only ever empty it once a month," she said.

Batty called the situation "appalling", particularly given the "astronomical council tax" her mother pays.

Barnsley Council acknowledged residents' frustration but said the cold snap in early January had severely disrupted services.

Councillor James Higginbottom explained: "The snow and extended period of freezing temperatures earlier this month meant we were unable to complete most scheduled collections during that week."

Barnsley Council acknowledged residents' frustration but said the cold snap in early January had severely disrupted services

He added that with more than 115,000 scheduled collections weekly, it takes time to recover from such delays.

The council said it remains behind with recycling bin collections but has deployed extra teams to address the backlog.

"We know it's frustrating for residents when their bin collections are disrupted and we apologise for the inconvenience this has caused," Councillor Higginbottom said.

The council has asked residents to leave their bins out, promising to collect them "as soon as we can".