People who dump their old fridges in the countryside could find themselves in hot water.

That is the warning issued by West Oxfordshire District Council, which has set up an environmental hit squad to combat illegal dumping.

It follows recent reports that fridges cannot be sent to landfill rubbish sites because of problems in draining them of gases harmful to the atmosphere.

In Oxfordshire, the county council is storing the old machines until the problem is sorted out.

George Kellow, West Oxfordshire's cabinet member responsible for the environment, said this week: "We're still continuing to collect old fridges.

"All people have to do is ring the council and we will arrange to pick them up free of charge.

"There's no need to panic. The last thing we want is people going out to dump them in the countryside, creating an eyesore and risking a heavy fine."

The council's hit squad was set up last year to crack down on fly-tipping and fly-posting.