Bin collections in Basingstoke are delayed because of staff sickness including Covid cases, the council has said.

Some waste and recycling collections were not completed on Thursday, December 23, leading to a knock-on delay for residents in Oakridge, Popley, Sherfield-on-Loddon and Chineham on Christmas Eve.

Crews were unable to complete their rounds by the end of the day and went back to finish off on Monday, but a message posted on Monday evening by Basingstoke council reveals that there are a number of areas that crews could not get to.

Now, the council is asking residents to leave their bins out if it has been missed.

The statement says: "Owing to staff sickness, including COVID-19 positive cases and self-isolation, waste and recycling collection crews are still catching up on last week's missed recycling and waste collections.

"This has had a knock-on effect on collections that were due today and there are a number of areas that they didn’t get to.

"If your street was missed, please leave your bin out. The crews will get to you as soon as they can and they appreciate your patience and understanding."

It comes as garden waste collections were suspended over the Christmas period as usual, despite cancellations this year.

Services were suspended for more than a month, resuming in November, because of the national HGV driver shortage.

The service is taking its usual break this week and will resume on January 10.

All subscriptions have been extended to cover any collections missed during suspension of service.