SIR – Regarding the dustbin collections, or lack of them, during the Christmas period, I wish to add another element to the debate.

As we live in a rural area of Eldwick, our dustbin men, who collect on a Thursday, use a small truck with a cage to collect our rubbish.

On Christmas Eve, we decided that we had already accumulated a lot of rubbish, so decided to check the Council website for the opening times of the local recycling centre at Dowley Gap. It stated that it was only closed on Bank Holidays, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.

We loaded the car and set off in the morning, but on arrival found it was closed.

Our dustbin men did arrive on the Thursday and took away the rubbish we had left out, but we still had several bags left as we felt it unfair to leave them all out.

After checking the website again and also noticing a few lines in the T&A stating the “closed days” for the recycling centres, we headed out to Dowley Gap on Friday, December 28. It was open.

However, when I asked a member of staff about the opening times they said: “We are always closed on Christmas Eve.”

When I pointed out that that was not made clear on the website, they then said: “No, we do open, but our bosses decided at the last minute to close as the waste is taken away by an external company.”

None of it really helps does it?

The Holden family, Tewitt Lane, Eldwick