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Householders in Shepway have been told to wrap their rubbish twice in plastic bags to stop a possible outbreak of killer food bugs reports the ickent.co.uk website.

They claim that the fortnightly collection of household waste could put people's health at risk. Tests which they report were carried out in laboratories on rubbish left rotting in wheelie bins outside homes for more than a week showed high levels of listeria and bugs related to hospital superbug C diff, and an increase in E coli levels.

Shepway council is asking people to wrap their leftovers in carrier bags before they dump them in bins, to help contain any possible outbreak.

According to the website, a district council spokesman said research carried out by the local authority prior to the decision to move to fortnightly collections showed there was no danger to the public.

The spokesman quoted by ickent.co.uk said: "People should wrap their food in plastic bags before putting it in their bin as flies only lay their eggs in exposed waste.

"The fortnightly collections are encouraging people to recycle, and we've found it does drive down the amount of food thrown away in the bins. All we ask is for people to be sensible."

But some councils have already begun the switch back following protests from the public.

This could be a signal to ministers and local government chiefs that discontent over rubbish collection cutbacks is widespread and powerful.

And it may sound a warning to council bosses that they are vulnerable to protest movements when voters go to the polls on May 3.

Fortnightly collections are justified by ministers and council chiefs who cite the need to stop sending rubbish to landfill sites and to fight climate change.

But the Government is piling on the pressure to reduce bin collections with heavy landfill taxes and with the threat of future fines for councils that miss European Union recycling targets.

There are deepening fears over the impact on public health of failing to collect rubbish once a week.

The Government's own studies point to the likelihood of infestation by insects and vermin, and to links between odours and nausea with fortnightly collections. Vermin control groups have warned that numbers of rat infestations are rising.

Public resentment over reductions in bin pick-ups has now forced 12 local authorities to change track after introducing or trialling alternate weekly collections. They include two - Bolton and Chelmsford - in which control of the town hall changed hands at an election after parties campaigned for weekly collections.

Others, such as Southampton, reverted to weekly collections in the face of powerful political pressure.