A leading Stafford Councillor has this week called on the Borough Council to rethink its policy on waste collection during future Christmas holidays.

Councillor Barry Stamp said that during the Christmas break he had received complaints from residents in Haughton, Church Eaton, and Bradley, that extra side rubbish and over filled bins had not been collected.

"While I agree in principle with the Council's policy designed to encourage more recycling, I do think there needs to be some flexibility. At Christmas time households, especially those with children, accumulate more rubbish than normal. This is especially true in households where the weekly rubbish collection day has had to be moved to accommodate public holidays. This meant that some residents in Haughton, Church Eaton, and Bradley did not have their wheely bins emptied for nine days. Naturally many residents either filled the bins to overflowing, or left the extra rubbish in sacks and boxes by the side of the main bin - which of course the refuse collectors refused to remove. This meant that local residents were forced either to make the long journey to the civic amenity site in Stafford or find alternate means of disposing of these unwanted items. I believe that by refusing to arrange for the collection of this extra rubbish, the Labour run Council is more interested in saving money rather than encouraging recycling," said Councillor Stamp.

"This situation cannot be allowed to continue. I will be asking the Council's Environmental Scrutiny Committee to look in detail at the Christmas refuse collection service offered by the Council, and I will be seeking assurances from the Deputy Leader for the Environment that a better level of service is provided in future years," added Councillor Stamp.