SEVEN out of 10 residents in Worcester want their grey wheelie bins collected once a week rather than every fortnight, according to the city's MP Mike Foster.

Mr Foster said he had conducted his own survey and found a whopping 72 per cent wanted a more frequent collection.

He has called upon the city council to restore the old service - while retaining the fortnightly green bin collection for recycling.

But his call has been rebuffed by the city council, with a cabinet member accusing Mr Foster of being "mischievous".

The survey was filled in by more than 1,000 people who were among the first to have the new service.

"The vast majority of people want a weekly waste collection for their bins before they get too smelly, attract flies and cause problems for people's health," said Mr Foster.

"The decision to collect fortnightly seems to be a cost cutting measure. It is a local decision, made by local councillors.

"They also have the power to reinstate a weekly collection if they wanted to. At most it would cost the equivalent of 20 pence per week per household.

"Too many products cannot be recycled. This is not the city council's fault, nor the homeowner's fault, but the consequences are felt by those who feel two weeks is too long for waste to lie rotting in a bin on the front door step.

"To ease the pain felt now, the city council should reinstate a weekly collection of grey litter bins."

As the Worcester News has previously reported, 26,500 city residents now uses the wheelie bin scheme.

Each home has one green bin for recycling and a grey bin for other rubbish, which are collected alternative weeks.

Next year the scheme is due to be rolled out to 13,000 homes in north Worcester, meaning more than 90 per cent of homes in the city will have the service.

Coun Allah Ditta, cabinet member for clean, green and safe said: "Mike Foster might be a little mischievous with this.

"I'm quite happy with the service we are offering and will personally review the overall strategy when phase three is complete.

"I'm not going to shut the door on any suggestions though. I just want a complete look at it when the scheme is complete."