GREEN campaigners have criticised county advice to Christchurch residents that they should use the Wimborne household recycling centre when the town's own tip is closed from March 20 to 22.

The Wilverley Road site, Somerford, is being shut temporarily while essential maintenance and improvements are carried out.

County recycling officers are telling householders they can drive instead to Wimborne's Brook Road tip - although they do admit due to the limited size and busy nature of the site, congestion and delays are likely.

"No, people should hang on to their rubbish until they can use Wilverley Road again," said Angela Pooley, co-ordinator for East Dorset Friends of the Earth.

"It will cause logistical problems at Brook Road, creating increased fuel usage, and will negate going to the tip in the first place.

"Why a temporary arrangement couldn't have been made for people to use Bournemouth's site at Millhams I just don't know. It's far nearer.

"It seems crazy that we cannot organise something as simple as that just for three days."

The work at Wilverley Road is the first of a major revamp of all Dorset household recycling centres during the next 18 months, with Shaftesbury next on the list, due to start on April 17.

Steve Burdis, Dorset's head of waste management, said the work at Wilverley Road consists of "line-marking, painting, general repairs and maintenance and the erection of new signage".

"We have chosen a relatively quiet time of year and the least busy part of the week to carry this out, and for practical and safety reasons it is essential to deny access to visitors during this period," he said.