Knives has been removed by neighbours from a pile of dumped rubbish because they were worried it would take a fortnight for the council to collect them.

Residents in School Court, Jericho, Oxford, spotted the four knives - one with an eight-inch blade - poking out of a pile of abandoned rubbish sacks in an alleyway.

Because of Oxford City Council's new fortnightly collections, they were worried the knives would sit there for days. Instead, they were carefully placed in a bag and taken back to a resident's home.

There were fears the knives could have been picked up by a child at the nearby school - or a drug dealer.

One neighbour, who asked not to be named, said: "I saw the blades poking out of a bag - I didn't have to look very hard, it wasn't like you had to search through the rubbish, ripping bags open.

"I could clearly see the blades of the knives so a neighbour and I decided get rid of them and put them in a safe bag in case anybody got hold of them.

"This is not always a nice area - there are often drug dealers and addicts about."

The discovery included two large bread knives and a vegetable knife.

The pile of rubbish sacks, mattresses and old beds was left in the alley two weeks ago and was due to be collected yesterday as part of the fortnightly collection.

The knives were found only yards from St Barnabas Primary School, Hart Street.

Fortnightly collections began at the start of 2007.

A council spokesman said: "We are very concerned that a member of public has found knives in a street in Oxford.

"With any situation like this, they should immediately phone the police."

If anyone discovers sharp objects or wants to throw away blades, knives or swords, they should take them to a police station.