Critics of plans to bring wheelie bins and fortnightly rubbish collections to south Oxfordshire were hoping the scheme would be thrown out today.

About 40 members of the public attended a district council meeting in Crowmarsh on Tuesday at which the ruling Liberal Democrats' £1.23m proposals were rejected by seven votes to six.

The scheme, which would involve 54,000 households getting wheelie bins, was due to be debated by the full council today and scrutiny panel committee chairman Ann Ducker said she hoped the plans would be dropped as a result. Conservative group leader Cllr Ducker used her casting vote on Tuesday to carry a motion that more research on the cost was needed, as well as information about how the existing waste collection system might be improved, before any new method was introduced.

Cllr Ducker said afterwards: "This was democracy at work. We had a good cross-section of people attending the meeting and there was a good-natured atmosphere."

Seven members of the public criticised the scheme and three spoke in favour, before voting became deadlocked with one Labour and five Liberal Democrat councillors in favour, and five Conservatives and an Independent against.

Those objecting feared vermin would raid waste left for a fortnight, and complained they did not fully understand the recycling improvements the council hoped to achieve.

Wallingford district councillor Denis Strange said: "Nobody seemed to address the problem wheelie bins would pose in Wallingford where we have narrow streets and narrow pavements."