Charges to collect and dispose of bulky household items have been abolished by Craven Council in a bid to maintain good relations with the public.

It could cost the Council up to £12,000 but councillors have agreed people paying rates should not have to pay extra to have the occasional large item of rubbish removed.

Councillor Philip Barrett said: "I think it does a lot for the image of Craven, and how we are perceived by the public."

Meanwhile, the district's wheelie bin programme has fallen behind in its aim to deliver the bins to all households in Craven.

By 2000, 17,000 bins should have been delivered to homes but in reality only 9,225 have been.

Head of operations Greg Robinson said the failure to meet the targets had been because of a staff shortage, but he was confident 14,000 bins could be delivered this year to make up the shortfall and include this year's share.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.