No lesser body than the World Health Organisation has recommended that in warmer climates such as ours, rubbish should be collected weekly to prevent disease.

However, the 'experts' in Oxford, with four out of 10 other councils, would have us believe that fortnightly rubbish collections, now enjoyed by nine million households, pose no threat to health.

According to tests carried out by a national newspaper, the Government's claims that fortnightly rubbish collections are perfectly safe are nothing but spin.

Independent tests on various food items show very little growth in dangerous organisms after a week, but tests carried out after two weeks on the same food items found an alarming increase in the number of organisms present.

Many are detrimental to health and could lead to death.

Not if, but when fatalities occur due to these medieval practices, can we assume that the people responsible for implementing these changes are prosecuted for manslaughter?

The only reason these measures have been implemented is due to dictats from our foreign masters in Brussels.

Will water supplies become tainted again, and will cholera and other water-borne diseases become the norm?

Only time will tell.

At least burial pits will be easier to dig with modern machinery.

Never mind, though, at least the money saved will enable senior council employees to keep their pension pot topped up.

With recycling in mind, perhaps our blinkered betters should order a few thousand cardboard coffins now as the price is bound to rise in the summer months.

TONY ANCHORS Didcot