A DISGRUNTLED woman is aiming to prove a new recycling scheme is utter rubbish and should be binned.

Christine Tolfree, of Old Hall Road, Leftwich, has spent hours collecting the signatures of frustrated residents who agree that Vale Royal Borough Council's Kerbside Recycling Scheme is simply not working.

And she is being backed by North-wich MP Mike Hall.

While many agree with the aims of the initiative - to increase the amount of rubbish recycled - they are angry that general household rubbish is now only collected every two weeks.

Christine, 41, says enough is enough and wants to see some action.

She said: 'The rubbish is everywhere and overflowing. Leftwich looks like a tip. I am hoping to cover the whole estate but each time it is taking me about two-and-a-half hours to call at a few doors because everyone has got something to say.'

Mr Hall is supporting Christine. A spokesman for his office said: 'Mike backs the residents. He is a huge recycler but believes there should be weekly collections of household waste. It is a massive problem, especially for families. He has received at least 30 letters from residents who are opposed to this, he has been stopped on the street and we are getting phone calls.'

Christine, who claims most people she has met while collecting signatures have backed her, plans to continue collecting names and comments from residents in Leftwich and Kingsmead over the next month before she hands them over to Mr Hall in a bid to get the weekly service reintroduced.

She added: 'It is the residents who are paying for this scheme, that's why I decided to do something.

'There are a lot of people who do not want this. There are a few different problems, for example elderly people can forget to take their bins out, which means they then have to keep their general rubbish for nearly a month. Other people's bins seem to be overflowing within a week.'

A spokesman for Vale Royal Borough Council said the level of complaints received was 'extremely small compared with the enormity of the scheme', and called on residents to continue working with the council.

And members of the Liberal Democrat group on Vale Royal say the scheme is 'an outstanding success'.

They say the borough has leapt up in the 'recycling league' - from around 286th to the top 20 - and add the response has been 'fantastic'.

Lib-Dem environmental spokesman Councillor Malcolm Gaskill, the deputy leader of Vale Royal, said: 'At last we have a recycling scheme which works. We would like to thank all the people who have got behind the need for positive recycling and shown such amazing and dedicated support.'

The party claims, during the first few weeks of the scheme, more than 45% of household waste was being recycled, compared to around 10% beforehand, while 'practically all' households in some areas are taking part.