I write to express serious concern over the city council's reduction of the frequency of refuse collection in the streets of North Oxford.

While I fully support and am implementing recycling measures with the help of containers supplied by the council, I deplore the accumulation of household waste which, a full week after the last collection, was smelling and unsanitary - not least because of the ambient temperatures in early to mid-December.

The problem will worsen once we leave winter behind and enter spring and summer.

If we compare ourselves with cities in continental Europe, where collections take place normally on a daily basis, Oxford is not looking after its citizens, or its tourists, with the same degree of responsibility - even though it is setting a good example with recycling.

If we look at other cities in the UK, I believe we fall short of comparative standards on that count, too, as far as frequency of refuse collection is concerned.

As a careful owner-occupier who pays his council tax, I urge the council to reinstate weekly collections at least, acknowledging that daily collections, as on the Continent, are probably Utopian in our setting.

ROBIN FIDDIAN Islip Road, Summertown, Oxford