FREEZING your old scraps of food before throwing them away will prevent maggots occurring.

This is the message from retired nurse and Swindon Advertiser reader Beryl Harris.

After reading about Kevin Benham and Ross Noakes’ maggot infestations, caused from delayed wheelie bin collections last week, Beryl contacted the Advertiser to let the people of Swindon in on her top tip.

Beryl, from Thorne Road, in Eldene, said: “It’s simple. Instead of throwing away old plastic containers, that you get things like strawberries in, keep them.

“Put all your scrap foods and bits and bobs from your plate into the container then put them in the corner of the freezer.

“Then, the night before your bin is to be collected, or in the morning, put them in black bags in your wheelie bin.

“Anything frozen will not attract vermin or maggots or anything.

“I can’t see where the problem is, it’s common sense to me.

“We all get stuff in containers that we can’t recycle so we should just put them to good use.”

The council last week suggested that keeping the bin in a shady area, ensuring the lid is tightly shut, will help prevent attracting maggots.

And any that do appear can be killed by pouring boiling water over them.

But Beryl is adamant her idea is a winner.

She said: “I’ve done it ever since I’ve had a wheelie bin and I’ve never had maggots.

“It was an idea I just came up with myself.

“My husband says I apply logic to everything and it doesn’t always work, but this does.”

Mr Benham, from Stratton, said he found maggots after leaving his wheelie bin in his garage for a week.

Ross Noakes, from Sun Lane, in Wroughton has also had a problem with the larvae.

A spokesman for the council said it is common for maggots to be found in bins during the summer months.

“Wheelie bin lids, if kept tightly closed, prevent flies from getting at the contents,” he said.

“It also helps to store the bin in a shady area if possible, as this reduces the chance of the contents heating up which increases the smell, which in turn attracts insects.

“If the bin does have maggots in it most will be removed when it is emptied, but maggots and eggs will be killed by boiling water.”