A DAD has slammed 'arrogant' council bosses for changing bin collection rules without sending households a letter.

Tim Cullimore, of Longworth, says his family was left to deal with weeks' worth of rubbish after collectors left it behind because it was put in sacks.

The 57-year-old said: "They refused to take our rubbish and just said they'd be back in two weeks and it was up to me to get it sorted.

"My wife and I have two children, so we generate a lot of rubbish, but now we are going to potentially build up four weeks' worth.

"The way they behaved is really shoddy."

Since November 1, bin collector Biffa – which works for Vale of White Horse District Council – has only been collecting recycling left loose inside bins across the Vale and South Oxfordshire.

The council said the change was 'widely reported' on television, radio and in newspapers and parish newsletters. It said 'bin hangers' were also left behind to inform residents.

But it admitted it had not sent letters directly to households, which Mr Cullimore said it had a duty to do.

The project consultant added: "I have no problem with the new policy but it is terrible these people are so arrogant that they appear to think it is up to everyone to find out about this on their own.

"I listen to Heart radio most days but I didn't hear anything about this.

"It is not my responsibility to go out looking for this information – it is the council's responsibility to make sure people are aware.

"It has definitely caught out other people on my road as well."

The council pointed out it would have to write to 110,000 households to notify everyone affected, including residents in South Oxfordshire who use the same service, and this would be expensive.

It also claimed letters addressed to 'the occupier' were often mistaken for junk mail.

A spokesman added: "Before the change, we had to reject lorry loads of recycling each month due to contamination.

"However, early indications are that since its introduction on November 1 we have not had to reject a single load – this is great news.

"We have worked hard to promote the changes in the months before it came into force. During October, any green wheelie bin with black or coloured sacks would have been emptied, and we left bin hanger informing residents of the change in policy.

"The changes have also been extensively reported through local press, radio and television news programmes, through social media and via our council and parish council newsletters."

It said it would continue to monitor the impact of the change but did not comment on Mr Cullimore's claims.