Oxford residents are waiting up to three weeks for unwanted fridges to be collected, after the city council fell behind in the collection of bulky waste.

Craig Simmons, Green city councillor for St Mary's ward, said: "It's an inconvenience to have to wait such a long time for any item to be collected.

"But fridges are more urgent because of the safety issue."

The council has a 10-day target for the collection of all bulky waste items, and Mr Simmons called for the collection of fridges to be made a priority.

Mary Clarkson, executive member for waste, said: "There are delays of up to three weeks, which we are not happy with. At least we are taking the fridges away and are dealing with them properly. They are made safe before being disposed of."

Under the previous Liberal Democrat-Green administration, charges were introduced for all bulky items, except fridges.

In May, the Labour group reversed the policy, claiming charges led to an increase in fly-tipping.