A jeweller has been ordered by his local council to hand over gold dust swept up from his workshop floor so that it can be taken to a tip.

John Doble, 50, who runs businesses in Torquay and Brixham, collects tiny gold particles from the floor and benches of his workshop and sells them to a specialist dealer for about £2,000 a year.

Torbay Council has ruled that the gold dust is commercial waste and has asked him to prove that he disposes of it properly. Mr Doble says that the authority refuses to believe that he is not putting it into his dustbin.