A row over rubbish collection flared after a councillor claimed Worthing was a very clean town.

Councillor Bob Smytherman made the statement during a debate on the town's controversial new refuse collection and recycling service.

But his claim sparked criticism from Tory opponents, who said many people in the town did not share his enthusiasm.

The new system, which involves householders putting their rubbish outside the front of their homes rather than the back, was introduced on June 23.

In the first few days, the council received thousands of calls from residents who either opposed the new rules or didn't understand them.

But the Lib Dems said the dust had settled and when figures were examined only a small percentage of residents had rung in to complain.

Coun Smytherman, Lib Dem leader of economic development, said: "Compared with Brighton and Hove, which has all sorts of problems at the moment, we are doing really well.

"On the whole Worthing is a very clean town."

He was backed by Councillor Geraldine Lissenburg, who said: "The cleanliness of the town is improving."

But Conservative councillor Tom Wye told a meeting of the executive many people in the town were not happy about having to put their rubbish outside at 6.30am, especially those living in terraced houses who had to carry bins through their homes to the front gate.

Paul Kempsall, head of contract services, said 15 per cent of refuse was now being collected for recycling, a much higher figure than before the changes were introduced.

The council was expected to have finished delivering 2,737 grey recycling boxes to residents who had requested them by the end of the week.

That would leave between 1,500 and 2,000 in stock to meet future demand.

Mr Kempsall said they were getting round to see people who had requested exemptions from the back-to-front bin policy but it was a slow process.

Tory councillor Reg Green spoke of an elderly couple, one blind and the other partially sighted, who had put their rubbish out but in the wrong place and it hadn't been collected for several weeks.

Councillor Sheila Player, leader of the executive, said he was "bang out of order" for raising a specific case at the meeting.

The overall cost of advertising the changes was £28,750, plus £20,000 for the purchase of additional recycling boxes, £175,000 on two new collection vehicles and an estimated £87,750 to cover the crews' wages.