Fly-tipping in the Vale of White Horse will increase after a decision to start charging for special collection sacks, residents claim.

The Vale district council received calls after it announced garden waste would only be collected if people bought special green sacks and limited waste to one sack per household each week.

The sacks, which cost 6.46 for ten, are sold at council offices in Faringdon, Wantage and Abingdon and selected post offices and shops.

Residents must use the sacks, pay 20 for a composter or take the waste to a recycling tip.

New European Union directives and Government pressure for councils to halve the amount of waste at landfill sites has forced the move, the Vale's principal waste management officer Martin Litherland said.

But it has angered many residents, who say it will deter people from disposing of rubbish in an environmentally-friendly way.

Maggie Froud, of Foliat Drive, Wantage, said: "I can't see why the Vale needs to charge an extortionate amount for 'special' green sacks.

"I can foresee problems. We will get back to the situation whereby rubbish, garden or otherwise, will end up dumped, probably in the dead of night, along roadsides."