CIVIC chiefs have been accused of "ripping off" Southampton's charity stores by overcharging for waste disposal services.

The Association of Charity Shops has described the behaviour of the city council as "disgraceful" after finding some outlets were paying nearly double what they should be.

And charity bosses claim many of the volunteer-run shops were being incorrectly made to pay for rubbish disposal as if it was commercial waste.

David Moir, head of policy and public affairs at the association, said: "The controlled waste regulations are quite clear - local authorities can only charge for the collection of waste from a charity shop.

"Authorities know this, yet they continue to rip shops off by including an extra charge for disposal."

Mr Moir said the association's concerns had repeatedly fallen on deaf ears at the council and called for immediate action.

Councillor Gavin Dick, Executive Member for Environment and Transport at the city council, said a policy would shortly be confirmed to charge for the waste collection element only.

He said: "Officers have been working to progress this issue and have made our views known on the interpretation of supporting legislation.

"We dispose of about 30 tonnes of charity waste each year, of which 20 tonnes is disposed of free of charge through our civic amenity site.

"The remainder is collected through our commercial waste business which costs us less than £5,000.

"Additionally, we further support the work of charity shops by removing excess waste and making extra collections without charge."