RIVAL councillors are calling for environment chiefs to resign after failing to represent the public and scrap charges for DIY disposal.

The Liberal Democrats have lobbied to persuade Wokingham Borough Council and re3, the borough's waster disposal operator, to stop charging for this type of waste since January.

This week, they took their message one step further by insisting all councillors involved should resign immediately, including Angus Ross and Anthony Pollock.

Councillor Clive Jones said: "We once again call on re3 and the councils involved to scrap these unlawful charges and this time we expect them to take notice of us.

"We have the Minister's support. Surely re3 and the three councils cannot defy a government Minister."

Guidelines issued by Andrea Leadsom, the Secretary of State for Environment, made it clear councils should stop charging for DIY household waste at civic amenity sites.

"Cllr Ross and Cllr Pollock have not stood up for residents," Cllr Jones added.

"As non-executive directors, they should use their influence to stop re3 from exploiting residents.

"The councillor directors have failed to stand up for their residents by not stopping re3 from making these charges. They should now resign their directorships."

Re3 directors turned down the request made by Lib Dem councillors to stop charging for DIY waste in January, claiming it did not meet the requirements for household waste.

The party have since taken their fight to the House of Lords, submitting requests to make it clear there should be no charge.

Cllr Ross and Cllr Pollock, Wokingham’s representatives on the re3 board, said in a joint statement: "Cllr Jones has once again demonstrated his lack of knowledge on the subject.

"Re3 continues to accept household waste free of charge for those residents living in Wokingham Borough, Bracknell Forest and Reading Borough.

"This is typical party political point-scoring and we intend to continue working through re3 to clarify the situation.

"We will await any further legal guidance from central Government before making amendments to the current policy.

"At no point has the board set a charging policy on non-household waste which conflicts with Government guidelines."