COUNCIL officials have invested thousands of pounds in Darlington's kerbside refuse collection scheme after its first year proved a big success.

Changes to the system affected 5,000 of the borough's 45,000 homes when they were first implemented 12 months ago.

Concerns were initially raised about the scheme, which meant dustbins could no longer be put out for emptying.

Instead residents had to put all household refuse in black bin bags and place them at the kerbside for collection.

The change caused anger among elderly and infirm people who complained they could not carry their refuse bags to the roadside.

They also said they were unhappy at having to be assessed by council officials in order to qualify for assistance.

Others claimed that their rubbish was not being collected, despite it being left outside their homes.

The system changes were introduced to make efficiency savings so that more money could be invested in the authority's kerbside recycling scheme as the Government set increasingly challenging recycling targets. Now, the council has announced that, in its first year of operation, the service has made savings of £250,000, much of which has been re-invested in the scheme.

Customer satisfaction levels for the council's refuse collection service have also increased.

The results of the 2003 Community Survey, which is carried out by independent market researchers, show that customer satisfaction has risen from last year's figure of 71 per cent to 78 per cent.

Councillor Chris McEwan, the council's cabinet member for community protection, said: "We did receive some criticism when we first introduced the new kerbside refuse collection service, but overall the public response to what we are trying to achieve has been excellent.

"We have also worked hard to maintain the good will of our customers, so it is really pleasing to see that our customer satisfaction level has increased.

"The savings we have made are already helping us to provide a comprehensive kerbside recycling service for our customers."

Council officials say that services will improve further as more money is invested