BASILDON Council has pledged a return to normality after overcoming a period of staff shortages that has disrupted bin collections in the district.

Over the past week, residents across the region have been asked not to put their household recycling out to be collected after the council declared a shortage of HGV lorry drivers.

Last week the council's chief executive Scott Logan said: "The combination with some internal operational issues led to delays in the service. We are working with all colleagues across Essex to see if we can develop local solutions for this.

"We will also be looking to review our own recruitment and training policies in this area to ensure we continue to attract appropriately qualified staff. In addition, we will look to provide further training to our own staff who would like to qualify as a HGV driver for the council."

The council says it is now confident issues have been addressed and a statement says: "All recycling collections, including pink sack and glass collections, will be back on next week starting with Wickford on Monday 20 September. Thank you for your patience and understanding whilst service has been disrupted."