Householders across the city face a frustrating wait to see when their bins will be emptied over the festive season.

Bradford Council has announced that it cannot give exact dates when rubbish will be picked up over the Christmas period due to the "large volume of refuse and possible bad weather."

The Council says that normal service will not be resumed until Monday, January 18.

But the news was greeted with anger in Bierley and West Bowling who were caught unaware when their bin bags were removed yesterday - a day earlier than normal.

One furious resident who lives in Broughton Avenue, Bierley, said the street was given no warning that collections would take place yesterday.

The man, who asked not to be named, said: "Normally it is advertised in the paper or there is a note on bin bags, but this year we had no prior knowledge.

"I am not clairvoyant so how am I supposed to know when the bin men are coming? I normally leave my bin bags by the roadside as there is no access for the binmen to collect my rubbish.''

Allison Tomlinson, of Henley Grove, West Bowling, said: "I have had problems with the Council collecting my rubbish for five years - sometimes it is picked up and sometimes it's not.

"Now I discover the bin men came early yesterday morning. I have two bags of rubbish waiting to be disposed of and I don't know when that will be. The situation is just going to get worse over the Christmas holidays.''

After being contacted by the Telegraph & Argus, the Council said it would send a van to collect rubbish from the Bierley street.

The Council says it no longer advertises collection dates in the paper or on bin bags as it results in confusion.

"We will not always arrive on the day stated as sometimes we suffer delays, so we stopped advertising almost two years ago," said a spokesman.

A spokesman for Bradford Council's Cleansing Department said: "We usually work three Saturdays after Christmas to make up for lost time. But because of the way Boxing Day falls this year we worked last Saturday instead and will work on the two Saturdays after New Year.

"It is difficult to give people an exact timetable of Christmas and New Year collections because of the large, extra volume of refuse and possible bad weather."

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