RESIDENTS in Purfleet, Aveley, West Thurrock, Chafford Hundred and South Stifford (in the London Road area) are advised that brown bin collections in these areas are a day behind, following the unexpected closure of a contractor's site.

Thurrock Council has had to prioritise its refuse and recycling rounds to ensure that blue and green/grey bins were collected on time following operational difficulties experienced earlier this week when a contractor had to close its site for more than 24 hours.

The crews have been working hard to bring waste collection services back to normal, however brown bin collections are a day behind as a result.

Cllr Aaron Watkins, Cabinet Member for Environment and Sports and Leisure, said: "Unfortunately, we were unable to dispose of the recycling we had collected earlier in the week as normal due to unforeseen circumstances at one of our contractor's sites.

"Today (Friday, 28 February) our crews will be collecting brown bins that were put out on Thursday. We ask that any brown bins that have not been emptied by Friday afternoon are moved back to your property and bins are put out on your normal collection day next week.

"We apologise for the inconvenience caused and thank our residents for their patience."