A bemused householder complained to the council after his bin was taken away for “being too big.”

Iain Macrae, who lives in Sandown Road in the Kingsmere estate, southwest of Bicester, was visited by refuse workers on Thursday, November 9 who reportedly took his general waste bin away.

Mr Macrae, the father of two young children, claims the refuse worker told him if a household’s bins have been largely unfilled for a certain length of time, then they would be exchanged for smaller bins.

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A self-employed lighting designer, Mr Macrae said: “A guy in an orange suit came up to the house and said my bin was being reported as being too big, so his team were taking it away.

“I kept questioning it. I told him we have young kids, and nappies and all sorts of other rubbish. I asked what we were supposed to do with no bin.

Oxford Mail: The Kingsmere site in Bicester The Kingsmere site in Bicester “He told me when the bins are collected they are scanned, which logs how much waste is in it, and if it’s been too empty for too long then a smaller bin is provided.

“But the worker told me we weren’t getting a new bin. And there was no offer of a replacement. He then went a few doors down and did the same thing to another house.”

Mr Macrae claims that he complained to the council, which told him there had been a mistake, and he was provided with a new bin on Saturday, November 11.

A spokesperson for Cherwell District Council said: “Every household in the district is entitled to a residual waste bin. Any household which doesn’t have one should contact the council and we will arrange for one to be delivered.

"The council will on occasion remove bins which have not been returned to their respective properties, for example, if they are reported to us as blocking a footpath.

"People whose bins are too large for their needs can also contact us and we will arrange for a smaller one to be delivered instead.”

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This story was written by Matthew Norman, he joined the team in 2022 as a Facebook community reporter.

Matthew covers Bicester and focuses on finding stories from diverse communities.

Get in touch with him by emailing: Matthew.norman@newsquest.co.uk

Follow him on Twitter: @OxMailMattN1