HOME-owners in Chandler's Ford are set to protest about their rubbish collection service - by dumping waste at the borough council's civic offices.

Currently Eastleigh council empties grey bins - containing perishable household waste - on a fortnightly basis.

But the local authority turned a deaf ear ten months ago to a 118-name petition from 139 homes calling for a weekly collection.

Residents aired health concerns about the threat of rats.

Now petition organiser Doretta Cocks, of Westwood Gardens, has launched a borough-wide bid to get Eastleigh's refuse system changed.

She's called it the Campaign for Weekly Waste.

She is planning a day of action and has warned that feelings are running so high that residents are suggesting they take their rubbish sacks to the borough's headquarters. Mrs Cocks, who has a Bachelor of Science degree in environmental science, said: "I got very short shrift from Eastleigh's environmental health department when I first contacted them - and a few months later the council introduced a £35 charge for dealing with rats.

"So many of the people who signed my petition have come back to me saying that they have had problems that I decided to launch a full-blown campaign."

Mrs Cocks said the Fryern Residents' Association had proved supportive and she was now hoping to get feedback from across the borough.

Residents are now being asked to sign campaign letters calling for the immediate return to a weekly collection of general domestic waste.

This is on the grounds that the current system does not meet the needs of householders and encourages vermin plus infestations of maggots and flies.

Mrs Cocks said: "I don't mean to make it sound like our day of action is a threat - but something needs to be done and the council does not seem to be taking this seriously enough. I agree that recycling is a good thing - but the alternate collection of household waste and recyclable material just does not work. It is my contention that the present policy compromises public health and well-being and should be changed."

Like-minded residents can contact her on 023 8048 8375.

An Eastleigh council spokesman said: "The council has given considerable thought to its refuse collection system and the service was the subject of a best value review earlier this year. In April the report of the best value review team concluded that the service should continue.

"Eastleigh is one of the country's leading councils for the amount of recycled material collected. A weekly system would reduce the incentive to recycle and increase the amount of residual waste for landfill."

He added: "There would also be further detrimental environmental effects with a 50 per cent increase in HGV freighter movements. The additional cost of providing a weekly collection service for non-recyclable waste would be about £500,000 a year."