THE policy of councils across Britain of limiting households to one wheelie bin each may have to change after an official complaint by a solicitor exasperated at having to make regular trips to his local rubbish tip.

The local government ombudsman has ruled in favour of Roger Houlker, who has fought a 2½ year battle against Congleton borough council to be given a second bin for his six-bedroom Cheshire home.

The ombudsman, Anne Seex, found the council guilty of “maladministration with injustice” for failing to collect all his waste and ordered it to review its policy. She also said she had “reservations” about the authority’s refusal to collect additional bags of waste left beside wheelie bins.

While waiting for his bin to be emptied, Houlker had to deal with vermin ripping open black bags used to hold extra waste in his garden and he made regular 12-mile trips to take them to a dump because dustmen would only take waste from his one 240-litre bin. Congleton council insisted the bin should have been enough for him, his wife Julie and their three children.

The ruling could lead to a flood of appeals against councils with similar one-bin-per-house rules.

Houlker, who lives in the village of Swettenham, first complained to the council in February 2006. He said he was doing all he could to recycle and claimed the council had a legal duty to pick up the extra waste.

In December 2007 Houlker complained to the ombudsman that he was being forced to take waste to the tip in his car.

In addition to telling the council to review its policy, Seex has said Houlker should be given £250 for his “time, trouble and costs” in taking his own bin bags to the tip.

A spokesman for the environment department said: “As quoted in the ombudsman’s report, it is hard to see how the authority can justify refusing to collect waste from a second bin especially where the resident is offering to pay for the additional receptacle.”

Congleton council confirmed it was reviewing its policies.

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