Neighbours kick up a stink over man who kept 4-tonne rubbish pile at his China home

An unemployed sanitation worker in China tried to run his own refuse-collection business out of his home – amassing four tonnes of rubbish and frequent complaints from the neighbours, mainland media reports.

An end to his scheme came on Thursday when a task force of cleaners descended on the elderly man’s residence in Yibin city in Sichuan province, according to Chinanews.com reports.

Two dozen sanitation workers and volunteers spent 12 hours sorting the rubbish, according to the website report.

After losing his job, the 62-year-old man tried to make money by selling the trash, but the situation spiralled out of control and was deemed a health hazard.

Three workers felt dizzy from the overpowering stench during the clean-up, which ultimately filled three garbage trucks.

His neighbours had complained to the authorities about his mountain of rubbish, saying the old bottles, rotten shoes and tatty clothes were a nuisance.