PLANS for fortnightly bin collections, which had been put on hold until after the general election, have been resurrected despite a government change of heart on the issue.

And fears have been raised that abandoning weekly collections could have an impact on health issues and lead to an increase in the rat population.

Tony Atkinson, chairman of Winterbourne Stoke parish council, said the matter has provoked “extreme concern.”

He said: “North of us in the Marlborough to Swindon area, there are rats recorded as being more than two feet long, and that is an issue of extreme concern.

“At that size, they are becoming a very dangerous, aggressive animal and carrying parasites which could easily become a major public health issue.”

The council wants to “harmonise” the services across all four districts which now come under the unitary authority and encourage people to recycle more.

And it is ploughing ahead, despite a promise by the coalition government on Friday, to reverse the Audit Commission’s unpopular guidance to councils to collect rubbish fortnightly.

At present Salisbury and south Wiltshire residents get a better deal in terms of household rubbish and recycling collections than the rest of the county.

The proposal is that the council continues the fortnightly collection of black boxes, plastic bottles and cardboard, with an optional free fortnightly collection of garden waste.

But it says it can only afford to introduce these services to other parts of Wiltshire by reducing the frequency of non-recyclable rubbish collection to every two weeks in the south of the county.

Toby Sturgis, cabinet member for waste, said: “We want people to recycle as much as possible in Wiltshire.

“Our aim is to provide a first-class recycling service no matter where residents live in the county and increase our current recycling rate from 40.5 per cent to more than 50 per cent.

“It is vital we reduce the amount of rubbish going to landfill sites, as space is at a premium and we must reduce the gas emissions and environmental impact these sites can have on our county.”

People can comment by completing an online questionnaire at www.wiltshire.gov.uk/waste or they can pick up a paper copy of the questionnaire from council offices, libraries and area board meetings.

They can also make their views known at a roadshow which will visit Salisbury Market Place on Tuesday from 10am to 2pm.