Warwick District Council staff have suffered "a steady torrent of abuse" since the changes were made five weeks ago.

Those on the Sort-It helpline have borne the brunt of it, with 'bin-rage' incidents including foul language and a "wide variety of threats".

Spokesman Richard Brooker admitted callers may have been made more irritable by long waits to get through, with up to 5,000 calls a day initially jamming the switchboard.

But he said there were no excuses for the language - or abuse meted out to workers totally unconnected to the scheme.

He told how staff from other departments at the authority's Riverside House headquarters had even been pelted with rubbish.

He said: "They've been sworn at, had refuse thrown at them and threats have been made. Such actions are completely unacceptable, and will not be tolerated.

"It has often been the receptionists on the counter - who are nothing to do with the waste collection team - who have had to deal with people venting their frustration.

"One member of staff leaving work after 5.30pm suffered a torrent of foul language from a customer who had come to complain about the refuse service and found the counter had, rightly, closed.

"In another incident a member of the chief executive's team terminated a phone call with a customer after threats and foul language.

"We are keeping a record, and where we are able to identify those involved details will be passed to our legal team. Customers are advised all calls are recorded."

* Those needing to contact the Sort-It helpline this week should have found it a less frustrating experience.

From Tuesday, staff began working longer hours, manning the lines between 8am and 7.30pm Monday to Thursday, 8am and 6pm on Friday and 9am and 1pm Saturday.

Numbers of calls have also fallen from 2,500 last week to 1,400 this.

"You should now be able to get through," added Mr Brooker, who last week apologised for ongoing problems.