Rats are plaguing an area where thousands of pounds have been spent on a scheme to combat litter and fly-tipping, a councillor claims.

Cllr Mary Lawes (Ukip) says the Dover Road Bin Pilot Scheme implemented by Shepway District Council has “let people down”.

She claimed rodents have been running along an alleyway between Harvey Street and St Michael Street in Folkestone.

The project was initially launched in November 2015 with a £20,000 price tag to incorporate extra bin collections exclusively for that area and a camera to catch littering culprits.

Then last November the scheme came up for review and an additional £18,000 was pledged in a bid to stamp out the problem “once and for all.”

The report which was put before cabinet members at the time said that, despite the project, “it is an opinion that due to the demographics of the area and its level of deprivation, waste issues will never be completely resolved.”

More mobile cameras are due to be installed by April and will not be fixed to one set location.

Cllr Lawes, who represents the harbour ward, said: “Residents were promised a camera would be fitted at the start of this year but nothing has happened.

“While there is a lot of fly-tipping, a lot of the problems are from residents in this area.

“Bins sit in the alley when residents have gardens and at the start of the alley they put their over-flowing bins out to be collected.

“But Veolia do not collect them. They remain there week in and week out which attract more dumping and fly-tipping.

“The council needs to get its act together and address the problems.

“There are rats running along this alleyway.”

Cllr Stuart Peall (Con) who is the cabinet member for the environment, said at the meeting: “Dover Road has been somewhat of a challenge over the last few years.

“We’ve seen a marked improvement and we’d like to see it go a lot further.”

Cllr Lawes added: “The pilot scheme has been going on for more than two years and it has not managed to achieve a solution to the problem.

“The lack of willingness to tackle the problems in this area on the part of the council is disgraceful.”

A spokesman for Shepway District Council said: “The Dover Road Bin Pilot came about as a result of working very closely with the Dover Road Residents’ Associations and other groups.

"These collaborations resulted in an agreed programme, which has been implemented over the last 2 years and has led to huge improvements across the area including provision of additional bins, increased patrols and monitoring and installation of CCTV cameras.

“The budget for the initial pilot was approximately £20,000 for bins and other items.

"The spend against this budget is just over £13,000.

"A additional budget of £20,000 has been made available for the purchase of CCTV cameras and associated equipment, which has now been spent with installation imminent.”