SUPERMARKETS are being ordered to "keep up their end of the bargain" to help stop trolleys being dumped in Basildon.

Basildon Council is urging the huge companies to collect the trolleys "in a timely manner" to help tackle the issue.

It comes as more than 200 trolleys were collected across Basildon in one week.

Last month councillors in Pitsea highlighted the issue.

The council is also threatening to hit the chains with costs for collection, storage and disposal of the trolleys. It is not known which chains the trolleys belong to.

During a meeting of the full council Melissa McGeorge councillor for community safety and enforcement said: "The vast majority of residents do the right thing and return the trolleys to the supermarkets.

"They are property of the supermarkets and as such this is something the council shouldn't need to get involved in however it is something we can get involved in if the supermarkets are not going to keep up their end of the bargain and collect them in a timely manner.

"If we have to get involved this will come at a charge to the supermarkets for each shopping trolley removed as well as a daily storage charge, a charge for disposing of them, should the supermarkets not collect them from us.

"To help my fellow councillor and his ward colleagues our hardworking cleansing teams have been out removing any shopping trolley they find across the borough, this week alone we've picked up over 200. This will not and cannot continue and will be asking officers to look at removing and recharging supermarkets should this situation continue.

"I will be contacting local supermarkets and I already have officers looking at space to store all the trolleys."