Leaflets are to go into every home in Wallingford asking local people whether they will be able to cope with wheelie bins when the new rubbish collection contract starts next year.

They will be inserted into the new monthly magazine The Window For Wallingford, which has replaced the Wallingford Magazine.

Mayor Betty Atkins said: "Most people will be able to cope with the new wheelie bins, but there are a significant number of terraced houses and flats where wheelie bins simply are not practical. People don't want to have to haul them through their sitting rooms to get to the kerbside - and we don't want to see wheelie bins permanently stacked outside in the street.

"We hope people will answer the questionnaire in the leaflet so we can let South Oxfordshire District Council know exactly how many will be affected."

The magazine goes into 3,500 homes in the town. Town clerk Andrew Rogers said: "This way we know that everyone has a chance to make a point - if they choose not to do so, that is their affair, but at least they were given the opportunity."

The wheelie bins will be used for the weekly collection of household waste for composting, fortnightly collection of other household waste, and fortnightly collection of garden refuse.