Students are being accused of turning a pretty Victorian street in Canterbury into a rubbish tip.

It follows piles of junk being dumped in St Martin’s Terrace, which was cleared away by Serco – only for a load more to be deposited the following day.

The area is heavily populated with students and many people posted on the Canterbury Residents Group Facebook page that they suspected it was students' trash chucked out before they vacated their digs for the summer holidays.

The city council, which provides and empties the bins, asked Serco to clean up the street – even though it is a private road and not its responsibility.

But neighbours were horrified to find another pile of rubbish had been dumped the following day. Now the council’s enforcement team are investigating.

Barry Phelan, a martial arts instructor who lives in nearby College Road, said: "It’s always a little messy but that’s the worst I have ever seen it. It looks like students have emptied their house and chucked it all in the bins and over the road.

"I was flabbergasted to see so much rubbish in the street the following day after it had been cleaned up. It’s not fair that other residents who keep their areas clean are let down by the messy ones, be it student or private. And it doesn't exactly foster good relations.

"There should be someone at hand to help deal with these things like they have wardens catching people dropping litter. It can’t go on like this year after year.

"Educate people who come to the area clearly what to do and how to manage their rubbish. By recycling you reduce the footfall of general waste and improve the environment.

"If someone is throwing everything out in the same bin, maybe the council could visit and work with them.”

City council spokesman Rob Davies said: "We became aware of piles of rubbish in St Martin’s Terrace on Sunday evening.

"This is a private road which the council is not responsible for, but given the condition it was in, we arranged for Serco to clean it up first thing on Monday.

"They did a great job, but it was extremely frustrating to see further piles of rubbish at the same location within less than 24 hours. Serco attended quickly once again to remove it.

"Our enforcement officers have been to the site to look through the rubbish and see where it came from, and investigations are continuing.

"Some of the properties in St Martin’s Terrace still have people living in them and we will be keeping a very close eye on the situation there over the next few weeks."